On November 11 Americans will honor those brave men and women who have served in the military. It all started on November 11, 1918, when an Armistice between the Allied forces of World War I and Germany went into effect. In November 1919, President Woodrow Wilson declared November 11th Armistice Day, in recognition of the end of the War that was to end all Wars. In 1938, the U.S. Congress passed an Act declaring November 11, Armistice Day, a national holiday. In 1954, after World War II, President Dwight D. Eisenhower proposed and the Congress approved changing the name Armistice Day to Veterans Day, honoring all Americans who had served in all wars.
We remember our local brave veterans including the Buffalo Soldiers along with our pioneering Black generals like General Benjamin Oliver Davis, Sr., U.S. Army, the first African American to obtain that rank in the U.S. Army, and his son Benjamin Oliver Davis, Jr., U.S. Air Force, as well as General Daniel “Chappy” James, fighter pilot, U.S. Air Force and General Colin Powell, City College of New York ROTC graduate who rose to become a four-star general and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, twice, as well as the first African American Secretary of State under President George Bush.
Of the 3470 Medals of Honor given out since the beginning of this Award, 89 have been given to African Americans and the first African American to receive one was William Carney on July 18, 1863.
So, this Veterans Day, all veterans have a very special and proud history to celebrate, recognizing that among those we honor and remember are our own countless “Band of Brothers and Sisters” that must not be forgotten.
