What happened to Veterans Day?
The 1970s were weird.
If you were there, you probably know what I’m talking about.
Oh sure, we had lots of fun.
Who could forget the hair, the music and the clothes?
But there were also things that are painful to look back on... like the hair, the music and the clothes.
One thing about the seventies that doesn’t get mentioned much is the Uniform Monday Holiday Act.
The Uniform Monday Holiday Act was an act of Congress signed into law in 1968 and enacted in 1971.
The basic idea was sound: Congress wanted to make sure several big federal holidays always happened on a Monday to give government employees a three-day weekend.
Congress assigned specific Mondays to Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day and Labor Day. The act also made Columbus Day a national holiday.
But the weird part is that the law moved Veterans Day to the third Monday in October.
Veterans Day had always been observed on November 11, but starting in 1971, it moved to the third Monday in October.
Americans observed Veterans Day in October for 7 years, until Congress got tired of taking the heat from veterans groups who insisted that the politicians put the holiday back where it belonged.
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Everything got back to normal in 1978.
What’s the moral of the story? Besides the fact that Congress can screw up anything if you give them the chance? I think the real lesson here is: don’t mess around with stuff that doesn’t belong to you.
I understand that Congress wanted to streamline the federal holidays and make things easier for HR departments, travel agents and family vacations. But Veterans Day wasn't created for lovers of the long weekend.?
It was made for the men and women of the United States Armed Forces and it happens on November 11th for a reason.
At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, World War I came to an end. Once the “war to end all wars” was over, our country vowed to honor those who served and sacrificed in The Great War by remembering them every year on November 11th, aka Armistice Day.
Armistice Day officially became Veterans Day in 1954, after WWII vet Raymond Weeks started a movement to expand the holiday beyond First World War veterans and include all service men and women.
The name changed, but the date stayed the same.
So every year, two weeks or so before we serve the big turkey dinner, we give extra gratitude to the men and women who served us.
I'll get the ball rolling... Thank you veterans! Thank you for your service and your sacrifice.
You'll probably get plenty of handshakes and high-fives on Thursday, but if you're looking to score some free pancakes, burgers and bottomless french fries, CLICK HERE.
That's enough nonsense for now...????
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3 年Proud of them all and grateful. Especially these two, my Daughter Taylor, Navy. Son Griffin, Marine corps.