How To Honor War Heroes On Veterans Day In Cumming

CUMMING, GA — Veterans Day, a federal holiday, is held yearly on Nov. 11. It honors all American veterans and military.

The Annual Veterans Day Ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. on Wednesday. The event, which this year is presented by American Legion Cumming Post 307, will be held at the covered arena at the Cumming Fairgrounds across the street from the Veterans War Memorial.

This year's event will combine the postponed Memorial Day event and Veterans Day ceremonies, including speeches, patriotic music, honor guards, and ceremonial wreath laying at the traveling replica of Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers.

Forsyth County government offices will be closed Wednesday in observance of Veterans Day. This includes county offices, the animal shelter, Senior Services, recreation centers and recycling convenience centers.

Originally called Armistice Day, the holiday was created at the end of World War I to recognize those who fought in “the war to end all wars,” according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Its origin is tied to the armistice, a temporary end of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany signed in France on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.

It became Veterans Day in 1954, shortly after the end of the Korean War and less than a decade after World War II, after various veterans service organizations urged Congress to encompass veterans of all wars in their honor.

With some ceremonies, parades and presentations either canceled or altered in 2020 due to the coronavirus crisis, restaurants and other businesses will continue to show their appreciation for veterans and active military members.

Applebee’s, Bob Evans and Chili’s Grill and Bar are among the national restaurant chains offering free or discounted meals for veterans on Nov. 11, and 7-Eleven is offering a free cup of coffee or Big Gulp.

Other places, such as Golden Corral and Eat'n Park, have offers extended throughout November.

Veterans Day is somewhat related to, and sometimes mistaken for, Memorial Day, the federal holiday on the final Monday of May that is dedicated to those who have died while serving the United States in war.