Veterans Day through the years

Today, Veterans Day is a federal holiday marked with the closure of schools and public offices in recognition for those who have served in the U.S. Military. For 107 years, the holiday we have come to know today as Veterans Day has evolved, and The Suffolk County News has reported on the day of recognition ever since.

Nov. 11 was originally designated as “Armistice Day” in 1919 to mark the first anniversary of the conclusion of fighting during the First World War, according to the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs.

“To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…” said President Woodrow Wilson at the time.

That same week, the Sayville American Legion Frederick Wever Post, later reformed as the Smith-Wever Post 651, organized with over 40 members under commander George K. Nauert at the Sayville Fire Department’s former “Truck House” Company. The group formed the day after the American Legion held its first ball commemorating the Armistice Agreement at the Patchogue Auditorium.

“The officers of the local Posts are reporting progress, and the members are slowly discovering their latent ability,” said Dr. Frank Overton, then chairman of the Suffolk County American Legion Posts, to the newly formed Sayville organization. “The Legion stands for community spirit just as the army and navy stood for collective, unselfish effort. If the members are as efficient in peace as they were in war, the future of our beloved land will be safe.”

Throughout the 1920s and ’30s, residents marked Armistice Day with ceremonies at the Old Sayville High School auditorium, and later parades along Main Street.

Nov. 11 would continue as “Armistice Day” until after World War II, with official congressional recognition in 1926, and later as a federal holiday in 1938. It wasn’t until 1954, after the Second World War and Korean War, that the 83rd Congress changed the day to “Veterans Day,” with President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who oversaw Allied troops in Western Europe a decade prior, issuing the first “Veterans Day Proclamation.”

Even before the day’s focus shifted from remembering war dead, like on Memorial Day, to honoring all U.S. military veterans, the Sayville American Legion Smith-Wever Post 651 and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 433, along with their auxiliaries, held parades and ceremonies at Sparrow Park, a tradition that continues to this day (without the parade).

Like clockwork, at 11a.m. on Nov. 11 each year, commanders of the local veterans’ organizations take to a microphone positioned at the monument originally honoring World War I dead and reflect on the sacrifice and courage every service member makes in and out of the military. Prayers are read, and a firing squad shoots following speeches from local officials.

“This day, Veterans Day, is for the living. It is an opportunity for a grateful nation to recognize and to celebrate every single individual who has worn the uniform of the United States armed forces in war or in peace, on active duty or in the reserve, from the day they first raised their right hand to this very moment,” said Sayville VFW Post 433 commander Bill Borthwick at last year’s ceremony.