On November 11, we observe Veterans Day to honor all of the people who have served the United States in uniform. It marks the day Germany signed an armistice with the Allied Powers, finally ending the four bloody years of the First World War.
President Woodrow Wilson first made Armistice Day a holiday in 1919, and it remained under that name until 1954. That year, Congress renamed it Veteran’s Day to honor all American veterans, not just the ones who fought in the trenches of the Great War. In fact, Congress actually changed the date of Veteran’s Day to the fourth Monday of October between 1971 and 1978. It returned to its original date in 1979, and it’s remained there ever since.
Armistice Day Blizzard
One of the biggest events to happen on November 11 outside of the World War I armistice is the 1940 Armistice Day Blizzard. It’s one of the greatest weather anomalies of the last century. The blizzard struck the Midwest on November 11 and November 12, 1940.
During the day on November 11, temperatures in Chicago and Davenport hovered around 55 degrees. But within the next 24 hours, temperatures swung into the mid-teens and more than a foot of snow would fall over the region. Once the storm blew through the area, more than 150 people perished. It remains one of the most destructive winter storms to pass through the area to this day.
81-year-old World War I veteran Joseph Ambrose holding the flag that covered his son, Clement, who died fighting in Korea.
Happy Veterans Day, and thank you to all the brave men and women who have served our country!
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