Alsip Salutes Veterans At Ceremony Planned For Thursday

ALSIP, IL — The Village of Alsip and VFW Post 450 will host a Veterans Day ceremony planned for Thursday, Nov. 11. The ceremony will start at 11 a.m. at the Veterans Plaza, 118th Avenue and Pulaski Road.

Veterans, active military and residents are invited to join elected officials as they thank veterans for their service.

Veterans Day, commemorated annually on Nov. 11, was first celebrated in 1919 to honor those who fought in World War I. It was initially called Armistice Day and was renamed Veterans Day in 1954.

The holiday's 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 following 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.

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, 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.

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