Veterans Day history remembered

Veterans Day has become a nationally celebrated holiday where everyone is encouraged to remember and honor those who have served the country.

The Poplar Bluff Veterans’ Council gathers at the memorial each year on Veterans Day to hold a ceremony and recognize those who have served. They gathered Monday morning, despite the chill and the rain, in order to have it.

“Can you imagine how rough it is for people in Vietnam and World War II and all the different wars that we’ve fought,” Rep. Hardy Billington said. “They were out in the snow. They died ... so that we need to make sure we remember them, every day of our lives.”

The Butler County Veterans Memorial Wall was built in 2012 outside of the Black River Coliseum. The Memorial consists of black granite panels, which has names of veterans inscribed on it. Around the center of the memorial is granite pylons, which includes the names of veterans who have been killed in action. It is designed to include over 6,000 names.

The tradition of Veterans Day started in 1921 when an unknown World War I soldier was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Recognition of soldiers started being held on Nov. 11 as it was the celebrated end of the war in 1918.

The day received the official name of Armistice Day and was named such by the U.S. Congress in a resolution in 1926. The name comes from the armistice signed between the Allies of WWI and Germany. The agreement took effect at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11. It became a national holiday 12 years later.

After WWII, the name was changed to recognize veterans of all wars.

The first celebration to use the name Veterans Day was in Birmingham, Alabama in 1947. Kansas Rep. Edward Rees proposed a bill, which was signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1954, to officially rename the day.