Before Nov. 11 became Veterans Day, it was Armistice Day, set aside to remember the end of World War I. After World War II, one of its veterans, Raymond Weeks of Birmingham, Alabama, argued that the day should honor veterans of all wars. Congressional resolutions and White House records from the Reagan administration credit him with a major role in making it happen.
A Proposal Handed to Eisenhower
Two resolutions introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Alabama, in 2012 and 2013 — respectively, House Concurrent Resolution 138 and House Resolution 395 — describe how it began. On Nov. 11, 1946, Weeks presented Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower a program for “National Veterans Day 1947,” which would honor veterans of all U.S. wars and replace Armistice Day. A White House briefing memo prepared for President Ronald Reagan in 1982 says Weeks led a small delegation to meet Eisenhower and that Eisenhower endorsed renaming Armistice Day to Veterans Day.
Related: For 7 Years, Veterans Day Was Not on Nov. 11. This is What Happened
Birmingham Goes First
The first Veterans Day celebration was held in Birmingham in 1947, the resolutions state, with a parade, a World Peace Dinner and a memorial service. The Reagan Library memo dates it to Nov. 11, 1947. The Congressional Record has Eisenhower writing to Weeks that year to wish him “every success in your purpose of arousing all American citizens.”
Weeks’s volunteer group, the National Veterans Day organization, expanded over time. H. Res. 395 says it grew to include an annual presentation of the National Veteran Award in Birmingham.
From Birmingham to Federal Law
Eisenhower signed the law that made Nov. 11 Veterans Day on June 1, 1954. Reagan later said Weeks was “the driving force behind the congressional action” that established the holiday.
A Medal From Reagan
On Nov. 11, 1982, Reagan presented Weeks with the Presidential Citizens Medal in the White House State Dining Room. Reagan called him an American patriot and said the medal goes to those who have made “outstanding contributions to their country.” The briefing memo prepared for the event, dated Nov. 10, 1982, called Weeks the “Father of Veterans Day.” Reagan’s remarks do not use that phrase.
The sources differ on how long Weeks ran the Birmingham celebration. Reagan said 36 years, the 1982 briefing memo said 35, and H. Res. 395 credits Weeks with 40 years of effort.
Related: Veterans Day and Memorial Day Got Tangled, So Congress Pulled Them Apart
Remembered in Birmingham
Weeks died in 1985, according to the National Veterans Day Foundation and the American GI Museum. A memorial to him stands in Linn Park in downtown Birmingham, where ceremonies are held each Veterans Day, according to the museum.
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