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CNN Live At Daybreak
Veterans Day Roots
Aired November 11, 2003 - 05:19 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Parades, speeches and the playing of "Taps," those are just some of the ways our veterans will be honored today. We observe the holiday every year, but how much do we really know about its roots?
CNN's Deanna Morawski gives us some historical context.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEANNA MORAWSKI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When WWI ended in 1918, people had reason to celebrate. The fighting had spanned more than four years, finally ending in the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of the year. For America, the day held special significance and President Woodrow Wilson soon proclaimed November 11 Armistice Day, commemorating the signing of the truce that ended the war and honoring those who served in it.
In 1938, it became a federal holiday and was celebrated for years before undergoing a name change in 1954. That's when President Dwight Eisenhower signed a bill renaming it Veteran's Day, extending honor to all U.S. veterans, not just those from WWI.
America seemed to be fine with that idea. But when Congress changed the holiday's date to the fourth Monday in October, hoping a three day weekend would give people time to visit cemeteries and memorials, it didn't take long to figure out how attached Americans were to the original date. Congress eventually changed it back to November 11.
American tradition holds that each year on that date, a service takes place symbolically at 11:00 in Virginia's Arlington National Cemetery, at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
The tradition has European roots. In 1920, the British buried an unidentified WWI soldier in Westminster Abbey; the French another at the Arch d'Triumph. A year later, the U.S. decided to follow suit, and buried an unidentified soldier in Washington's new Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Each year, following tradition, the president lays a wreath at the Tomb and "Taps" is played to honor all who have fallen while serving in America's American forces.
This year, they'll honor nearly 400 more veterans, those who paid the ultimate price in the recent military action in Iraq.
Deanna Morawski, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE) TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired November 11, 2003 - 05:19 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Parades, speeches and the playing of "Taps," those are just some of the ways our veterans will be honored today. We observe the holiday every year, but how much do we really know about its roots?
CNN's Deanna Morawski gives us some historical context.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEANNA MORAWSKI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When WWI ended in 1918, people had reason to celebrate. The fighting had spanned more than four years, finally ending in the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of the year. For America, the day held special significance and President Woodrow Wilson soon proclaimed November 11 Armistice Day, commemorating the signing of the truce that ended the war and honoring those who served in it.
In 1938, it became a federal holiday and was celebrated for years before undergoing a name change in 1954. That's when President Dwight Eisenhower signed a bill renaming it Veteran's Day, extending honor to all U.S. veterans, not just those from WWI.
America seemed to be fine with that idea. But when Congress changed the holiday's date to the fourth Monday in October, hoping a three day weekend would give people time to visit cemeteries and memorials, it didn't take long to figure out how attached Americans were to the original date. Congress eventually changed it back to November 11.
American tradition holds that each year on that date, a service takes place symbolically at 11:00 in Virginia's Arlington National Cemetery, at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
The tradition has European roots. In 1920, the British buried an unidentified WWI soldier in Westminster Abbey; the French another at the Arch d'Triumph. A year later, the U.S. decided to follow suit, and buried an unidentified soldier in Washington's new Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Each year, following tradition, the president lays a wreath at the Tomb and "Taps" is played to honor all who have fallen while serving in America's American forces.
This year, they'll honor nearly 400 more veterans, those who paid the ultimate price in the recent military action in Iraq.
Deanna Morawski, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE) TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
