Veteran’s Day, also known as Armistice Day, has been observed annually on November 11th for almost a century. The first Veteran’s Day in 1919 marked the first anniversary of the 1918 armistice, which ended all hostilities in World War I. Veteran’s Day is a holiday to remember and honor all those who risked and, in many cases, gave their lives to serve their country.
In honor of the countless and sometimes nameless individuals who fought through grit and victory during American wartimes, take advantage of HSP’s resources to gift yourself and students with a powerful history lesson this Veteran’s Day! We, too, as students and educators, can contribute to democracy, freedom, unity and overcoming injustices in our nation and the world, just as our veterans have fought to do so. With due homage and respectful gratitude, let’s learn about, salute, teach, and forever remember the people who stood in the name of our nation to contribute to a place in this world we may proudly call home.
HSP houses countless documents from American wartimes that shed historical light on how veterans have paved the way for our nation. These include military enlistment records, death lists, newspaper articlesand clippings, wartime diaries, letters, enlistment pamphlets, even cook booksand photographsthat all tell of individuals and livelihoods of America’s historic soldiers. Click the links to give you an idea of what the HSP archives have to offer for our veterans’ histories. To do your own research, please take advantage of our digital library, subject guides and online catalog of HSP collections to find items and online resources directly related to your curriculum.
Look at HSP’s online digital history project, Preserving American Freedom, to invigorate your lesson plans with our resources. This material will help students come to understand the complicated forging of freedom that veterans have fought for domestically and on a global stage since the American Revolution to the present day. Interested in veterans that served during a specific war? Look to our military recordssubject guide for to lookup records of events, individuals and regimens.
On November 19th there will be an exhibition on the Civil War documents, which will highlight both the significance of the war as a definitive turning point in our nation’s history and will honor the veterans that fought in it. HSP wishes to honor the heroism and dedication of our veterans by sharing our historical documents with the public.
For this Veteran’s Day, dive into some history for a few of this nation’s most memorable and solemnly proud moments. Visit the Veterans Affairs website, and see what you can personally do to say “thank you” to the soldiers and veterans that have served for the sake of our America.
The Veteran Affairs’ history of Veteran’s Day:
http://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/vetdayhistory.asp