Veterans Day 2026 falls on Wednesday, Nov. 11, and it will be on Nov. 11 every year no matter the day of the week. That is the law: a 1975 statute, Public Law 94-97, pulled the holiday back to Nov. 11 after a seven-year experiment with a Monday in October. On the day itself, federal offices are closed, there is no regular mail delivery, and entry to national parks is free.
The holiday also has a narrow purpose that is easy to blur. Veterans Day thanks everyone who has served in the U.S. armed forces, living or dead. Memorial Day, in May, honors those who died in service. Here is how a World War I ceasefire became a day for every veteran, told through the laws that shaped it, 108 years after the guns went quiet.
The eleventh hour of 1918 and the first Armistice Day
The fighting in World War I stopped at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11, 1918, when the armistice between the Allies and Germany took effect. The war did not formally end until the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, but Americans treated the armistice as the end, and the date stuck.
In November 1919, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the first Armistice Day. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs’ history of the holiday, the plan called for parades, public gatherings and a brief pause in business at 11 a.m. Two years later, on Nov. 11, 1921, an unidentified American soldier from the Western Front was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier became the center of the national observance. It still is. Stucci Media has written about the long work of naming the unidentified in our report on the USS Arizona unknowns.
Congress moved in steps. A concurrent resolution on June 4, 1926, asked the president to call for flags on Nov. 11 each year. Then the Act of May 13, 1938 (52 Stat. 351) made Nov. 11 a legal federal holiday, “a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace,” known as Armistice Day.
The 1954 law that made it Veterans Day
World War II and Korea put millions more Americans in uniform, and a holiday named for the end of one war no longer fit. The push came from the ground up. Raymond Weeks, a World War II Navy veteran in Birmingham, Alabama, organized a 1947 celebration honoring veterans of all wars and lobbied for a national version. According to the American G.I. Museum, Rep. Edward Rees of Kansas carried the bill in Congress, and President Ronald Reagan later awarded Weeks the Presidential Citizens Medal in 1982.
On June 1, 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed H.R. 7786, Public Law 380 of the 83rd Congress. It struck the word “Armistice” from the 1938 law and inserted “Veterans.” That October, Eisenhower issued the first Veterans Day proclamation and created a Veterans Day National Committee, chaired by the head of the Veterans Administration. Since VA became a Cabinet department in 1989, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs has chaired it.
The Monday experiment, 1971 to 1977
In 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Holiday Bill (Public Law 90-363) to give federal workers more three-day weekends. It moved Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Columbus Day and Veterans Day to Mondays. Veterans Day landed on the fourth Monday in October, and the first one under the new law was Oct. 25, 1971.
It did not go well. Many states kept Nov. 11 anyway, so schools, businesses and governments observed different days, and veterans groups pushed back hard. The holiday had been tied to a specific moment in history, and moving it for a long weekend struck many veterans as missing the point.
Public Law 94-97: the 1975 fix still in force
On Sept. 18, 1975, Congress approved S. 331, and President Gerald Ford signed it two days later as Public Law 94-97 (89 Stat. 479). The law is short. It returned Veterans Day to Nov. 11, starting in 1978, to give calendars and contracts time to adjust.
In his signing statement, Ford said the change followed the wishes of most state legislatures, the major veterans organizations and a great many individual Americans. He called the Nov. 11 observance “deeply and firmly rooted in our customs and traditions.” Today the holiday sits in federal law at 5 U.S.C. 6103 as “Veterans Day, November 11.”
One more rule decides how the day is observed at work. When Nov. 11 falls on a Saturday, federal employees observe it the Friday before; on a Sunday, the Monday after. This year it is a Wednesday, so the observance is on the day itself.
What this means for you
Know what is open on Wednesday, Nov. 11. Federal offices, VA regional benefit offices and post offices are closed, and regular mail is not delivered. VA medical centers keep emergency care running, but routine appointments are usually rescheduled, so confirm any appointment that week. Most banks close because the Federal Reserve observes the holiday. Private employers are not required by federal law to give the day off.
Visit a national park for free. The National Park Service lists Nov. 11 among its 2026 fee-free days. Veterans and Gold Star families can also get free entry year-round with an accepted ID such as a VA Health Identification Card or Veteran ID Card.
Get your paperwork in order before the holiday rush. Many Veterans Day discounts and some state benefits ask for proof of service. Your DD-214 is the gold standard. You can request a copy through the National Archives’ National Personnel Records Center or VA.gov, and you can apply for a Veteran ID Card on VA.gov. Allow several weeks for either.
Fly the flag. The U.S. Flag Code, 4 U.S.C. 6, names Veterans Day as one of the days the flag should be displayed.
Mark the 11 a.m. moment. The National Veterans Day Observance at Arlington National Cemetery begins with a wreath-laying at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at 11 a.m. Eastern. Communities across the country hold their own ceremonies, often at the same hour. Stucci Media’s coverage of the new Desert Storm memorial on the National Mall lists another stop for anyone in Washington that week.
Spell it right. The official name is Veterans Day, with no apostrophe. It is a day for veterans, not a day that belongs to any one veteran.
Rocci’s Take
The 1975 law is a reminder that veterans can still move Washington when they speak up together, because they took their holiday back from a long-weekend plan. Veterans Day was never meant to be a sale or a day off; it is a thank-you that comes with a date attached. Spend some of Nov. 11 with a veteran you know, and ask them about their service before their stories are gone.
For more on the people behind the uniform, see the Stucci Media Veterans hub and our Military hub. This page will be updated each year with the date and day of the week.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Veterans Day on Nov. 11?
The armistice that stopped the fighting in World War I took effect at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11, 1918. The date became Armistice Day and, in 1954, Veterans Day. Public Law 94-97 fixed it on Nov. 11 starting in 1978.
What is the difference between Veterans Day and Memorial Day?
Veterans Day honors everyone who has served in the U.S. armed forces, living or dead. Memorial Day, the last Monday in May, honors service members who died in military service.
When did Armistice Day become Veterans Day?
President Eisenhower signed the change into law on June 1, 1954, replacing “Armistice” with “Veterans” so the day would honor veterans of all wars.
Why did Veterans Day move to October?
The Uniform Holiday Bill of 1968 moved it to the fourth Monday in October starting in 1971 to create a three-day weekend. After years of confusion and objections from veterans and states, Congress returned it to Nov. 11 in 1975, effective 1978.
Is mail delivered on Veterans Day?
No. Veterans Day is a federal holiday, so post offices are closed and regular mail is not delivered. Federal offices and most banks are closed as well.
Sources
- Public Law 94-97, 89 Stat. 479, Sept. 18, 1975
- Gerald R. Ford, Statement on Signing a Bill Redesignating November 11 as Veterans Day, Sept. 20, 1975, The American Presidency Project
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, History of Veterans Day
- American G.I. Museum, Meet the Father of Veterans Day, Raymond Weeks
- Act of May 13, 1938 (52 Stat. 351); Public Law 83-380 (1954); Public Law 90-363 (1968); 5 U.S.C. 6103; 4 U.S.C. 6
Rocci J. Stucci is the founder and CEO of Stucci Media and host of The Rocci Stucci Show.
