United States · November 11, 2026

Veterans Day

November 11 — thanking everyone who served, living and dead.

What happened

The guns of the First World War stopped at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, in 1918. The anniversary was called Armistice Day. In 1954 the United States renamed it Veterans Day so that it honored everyone who had served in any war, not only that one. Much of the Commonwealth still keeps it as Remembrance Day, with a poppy.

Why it stuck

Memorial Day is for the dead; this one is for the living. Somebody your child knows has probably served.

What a family can do

Write a letter. An actual letter, on paper, to somebody who served. There is nothing else to buy.

Questions to work through

1. Eleventh hour, eleventh day, eleventh month. Why would anyone choose a time like that?
2. Why a poppy? Find the poem it comes from.
3. Interview someone who served. Three questions, written down beforehand.