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)

Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Battle of Puebla, which took place in
Mexico on May 5, 1862. The battle was part of the Franco-Mexican War,
which began as a result of new Mexican President Benito Juarez defaulting
on the country’s loans from European governments. Britain, France and
Spain sent troops to Veracruz to demand reimbursement. Britain and
Spain eventually withdrew, but France continued its advance, hoping to
carve out a territory of Mexico for itself. France sent 6,000 troops to attack
the small town of Puebla de Los Angeles in east central Mexico. Juarez
responded by sending 2,000 men. Though they were outnumbered, the
Mexican army was victorious over the French. However, it would be
another five years before the French would withdraw from Mexico
completely. The first record of a Cinco de Mayo celebration appeared in
an article in a newspaper in Columbia, Calif. three days after the Battle
of Puebla. Big parties commemorating the Mexican military victory took
place.