Honoring Our Veterans
An elementary school student waves her flag during NC State's annual Veterans Day remembrance at the Memorial Bell Tower.
PHOTO GALLERY: Veterans Day Observance
Photos by Roger Winstead, Creative Services
In the shade of NC State's Memorial Bell Tower, a large crowd gathered Tuesday for a special on-campus observance of Veterans Day and to honor those who have served in our armed forces.
NC State chancellor James Oblinger joined with the vice mayor of Raleigh's sister city (Compiegne, France), Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker and other guests to honor our veterans and talk about the significance of the Belltower, which serves as a monument to NC State alumni killed during World War I. The celebration also included patriotic music from the Broughton High School Choral Group and a ringing of the tower's carillon bells.
Unlike Memorial Day - which is strictly an American holiday - Veterans Day is part of a larger international celebration of Armistice Day, which marked the cease-fire agreement that ended World War I on Nov. 11, 1918, during the 11th hour of the 11th day in the 11th month. Like Memorial Day, though, the date soon became a date to honor those who died in the recent conflict.
On its second anniversary, Britain and France buried an Unknown Soldier to honor the war dead, and the United States adopted the custom the following year. Congress made Armistice Day a legal holiday in 1938, and in 1954, following U.S. military involvement in World War II and the Korean War, Congress voted to change the name of the Armistice Day holiday to Veterans Day