Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and Armed Forces Day

By Joe Berk

Mike Huber’s recent post on ANZAC day in Australia touched on our Memorial Day.   Let’s take a minute for a brief review of the three military holidays we celebrate here in the United States (Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and Armed Forces Day).

Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a federal holiday honoring men and women who have fallen in battle.  It is on the last Monday in May.   Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day, with origins rooted in several state-specific holidays.   The tradition started after the end of the Civil War and has continued ever since.

Veterans Day

Veterans Day is another federal holiday; it is celebrated on November 11.  It was originally known as Armistice Day to celebrate the end of World War I which occurred on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.  Armistice Day was officially redesignated as Veterans Day in 1954.  I like to think of Veterans Day as my holiday because it celebrates all veterans of the US military.  No doubt many of our ExNotes readers who served feel the same way. Like Memorial Day, Veterans Day is a legal holiday.

Armed Forces Day

Armed Forces Day celebrates our military services and those who are currently serving in uniform.  It occurs on the third Saturday in May.  It came into being in 1949 when Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson announced its creation to celebrate consolidation of all military branches under the U.S. Department of Defense.  Prior to that, there were separate Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps Days.

I’m grateful for having had the opportunity to serve (as are the vast majority of those who have), and when I meet other people who have worn the uniform of their nations’ military service there’s an instant bond.  I felt that way immediately when I met Mike Huber that hot summer day in Baja (I recognized Mike’s jump wings on his BMW at an impromptu gas stop in Catavina), and I felt the same way when I met Sergeant Zuo in Chongqing when we started our 6000-mile ride around China.

Mike was a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division when he served. I went through the same jump school as Mike did at Fort Benning, Georgia (I’m Charlie 34 in the photo up top, one of the scared young soldiers a few days away from my first jump at the Benning School for Boys).

Sergeant Zuo is a retired Chinese Army senior NCO.  Because I was a lieutenant when I got out of the Army, Sergeant Zuo snapped to attention and saluted me every morning on that great ride around China.  At the end of our 38-day ride, Zuo and I enjoyed a swim in the Yellow Sea in Qingdao.  When I served in a Hawk missile battery in Korea, my missiles’ primary target line pointed across the Yellow Sea directly at Qingdao.  Zuo and I had a good laugh about that.

I’m proud of my service in the U.S. Army and the fact that I joined in an era when most people were doing everything they could to avoid military service.  It’s paid huge dividends for me, not the least of which are what I consider to be a realistic outlook on life, the ability to focus on objectives (in both my military and civilian careers), and my willingness to listen to others (“seek to understand before seeking to be understood” is perhaps the best advice I’ve ever heard).  My belief is that eliminating the draft at the tail end of the Vietnam era and not replacing it with some sort of universal public service has hurt our society, but that’s just my opinion.  If you have a different perspective, I’d love to hear from you.

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