Veterans Day has been observed in one form or another since 1919, when then-President Woodrow Wilson commemorated the first anniversary of the World War I armistice.

"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," Wilson said at the time.

Here's why Americans mark Veterans Day.

Why is Veterans Day observed

When its original title, Armistice Day, was first invoked by an American president in 1919, the purpose of the holiday was to commemorate the end of World War I the year

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