President Woodrow Wilson first proclaimed Armistice Day for November
11, 1919. In 1945, World War II veteran Raymond Weeks from Birmingham, 
Alabama, had the idea to expand Armistice Day to celebrate all veterans,
not just those who died in World War I. He led a delegation to then Gen.
Dwight D. Eisenhower, who supported the idea of a National Veterans
Day. The first national celebration was in 1947 in Alabama. Congress
changed the name of the holiday to “Veterans” day in 1954.

                      
                                   Official Veterans Day 2013 Poster