Five Questions We're Googling About Veterans Day
Google Trends sent out an email for Veterans Day on the top questions people have asked about veterans in the past week. Here are a few highlights . . .
1. "Are active duty military considered veterans?" Technically, no. "Veterans" are former membersof the military, not people who are still serving. Anyone who WAS a full-time service member is a vet, unless they were dishonorably discharged.
2. "Why is Veterans Day on the 11th?" It marksthe Armistice of November 11th, 1918. That's the formal agreement that officially ended World War One.
3. "What was Veterans Day originally called?" From 1919 through 1953, it wascalled Armistice Day. President Eisenhower. . . himself a veteran . . . changed it to Veterans Day in 1954.
4. "How many World War Two veterans are still alive?" According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, roughly 240,000 World War Two vets arestill with us. Around 16 million Americans served in World War Two.
5. "What is the Purple Heart awarded for"? It's given to people who are wounded in combat. Around TWO MILLION Purple Hearts havebeen awarded since it was established in 1932. George Washington is generally credited with coming up with the idea though. He createda similar award in 1782 called the Badge of Military Merit.
Originally posted on November 11th, 2021