Father’s Day was not celebrated in the US, outside Catholic traditions, until the
early 20th century. As a civic celebration in the US, it was inaugurated then
to complement Mother’s Day by celebrating fathers and male parenting.

After Anna Jarvis‘ successful promotion of Mother’s Day in Grafton, West
Virginia, the first observance of a "Father’s Day" was held on July 5, 1908,
in Fairmont, West Virginia, in the Williams Memorial Methodist Episcopal
Church South, now known as Central United Methodist Church.

President Harry S. Truman led the effort to establish a single
holiday for citizens to come together and thank our military
members for their patriotic service in support of our country.

On August 31, 1949, Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson
announced the creation of an Armed Forces Day to replace
separate Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force Days.

The single day celebration stemmed from the unification of
the Armed Forces under the Department of Defense.

Louis Arthur Johnson
(January 10, 1891 – April 24, 1966)