U.S. Veterans Day parades and ceremonies honor those who served By Los Angeles Times, adapted by Newsela staff on 11.12.13 Word Count 722

U.S. President Barack Obama positions a commemorative wreath during a ceremony to honor veterans at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery on Nov. 11, 2013, in Arlington, Va. Photo: Olivier Douliery/Abaca Press/MCT

Veterans Day is the day the United States thanks people who served in the military. New Yorkers were led by the nation’s first four-star female general when they honored veterans on Monday with a parade up Fifth Avenue. It was a sign of how the military has changed. Officials across the nation placed wreaths on monuments to honor those who served in wars over the nation's history. They also pushed for more jobs for veterans. “We join as one people to honor a debt we can never fully repay,” President Barack Obama said at Arlington National Cemetery. It is located in Virginia, but is near Washington, D.C.

In New York, Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody led the parade. Dunwoody retired last year after 37 years in the Army. There were 21.2 million military veterans as of 2012 in the United States. Of that group 1.6 million are women, according to the government.

Changing Face Of Military President Harry Truman officially ended discrimination in the armed forces in 1948. In 2012, whites made up four-fifths of the veterans. African-Americans were the second largest at roughly one-tenth of the veterans. There are about half as many Hispanic veterans as African-Americans. Among the ceremonies around the nation was one for two of the original Tuskegee Airmen. This was a group of African-American pilots in World War II. The main part of the nation’s observance was the traditional televised laying of a wreath by the president at the Tomb of the Unknowns. It honors soldiers who died without anyone knowing who they were. The tomb is located in Arlington National Cemetery. The usual 21-gun salute was fired. The president was joined by representatives of all of the services: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard. Obama honored one of the nation’s oldest veterans, Richard Overton, 107. “This is the life of one American veteran, living proud and strong in the land he helped keep free,” Obama said. Earlier, the president hosted a breakfast at the White House. Veterans and their families were invited.

Holiday Began In 1919 The holiday began as Armistice Day on Nov. 11, 1919. It was meant to remember the end of World War I. Congress created an annual observance in 1926. Nov. 11 became a national holiday in 1939. The holiday became Veterans Day in 1954 when Dwight D. Eisenhower was president. Eisenhower had been the commander of all Allied forces in World War II. Veterans Day was designed to remember all those who served in the military. Memorial Day honors those who died while serving. Memorial Day is at the end of May. Veterans are still alive from many wars. According to the government, there are 7.4 million Vietnam-era veterans. About 5.4 million veterans served during the Gulf wars. About 1.6 million served in World War II and 2.3 million served in Korea. About 5.3 million veterans served only in peacetime. The military is becoming a career for more people. So it is more common for soldiers to have served in more than one war.

Veterans have long been a political force within the United States. The Continental Army was disbanded in 1783 after the Treaty of Paris ended the Revolutionary War. But in June, veterans took to the streets demanding back pay. They forced the U.S. Congress to flee from the then-capital of Philadelphia to New Jersey.

Pushing For Jobs For Veterans The country began paying soldiers extra money as soon as 1776. The money is called a bonus. By 1932, veterans were marching on Washington. They were called the Bonus Army and were seeking bonuses promised to them by the government. At least two veterans died in fights with federal troops. Modern restaurants and merchants have also offered various bonuses. They give things like free meals to attract veterans’ business. The government says that 14.7 million veterans voted in the 2012 presidential election. That is a large turnout, since it's more than two-thirds of all veterans. First lady Michelle Obama and Jill Biden, the wife of the vice president, asked businesses to hire veterans. They made their case for hiring veterans in a newspaper article. “Our veterans are some of the most highly-skilled, hardest-working employees around. In short, our veterans are tremendous assets for our businesses, so we challenged companies across America to hire as many veterans as possible.”