Alabama's part in making Veterans Day the holiday it is now...

[knitepoet]

I did not know that an Alabamian led the change from "Armistice Day" to the current "Veterans Day" until they mentioned it on the local news a few minutes ago.
This is what I found

In 1945, WWII veteran Raymond Weeks from Birmingham, Alabama, had the idea to expand Armistice Day to celebrate all veterans, not just those who died in World War I. Weeks led a delegation to Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, who supported the idea of National Veterans Day. Weeks led the first national celebration in 1947 in Alabama and annually until his death in 1985. President Reagan honored Weeks at the White House with the Presidential Citizenship Medal in 1982 as the driving force for the national holiday. Elizabeth Dole, who prepared the briefing for President Reagan, determined Weeks as the "Father of Veterans Day."

and you can read the text of Regan's presentation here
http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archive...82/111182a.htm

[5280 shooter II]

Reading that.....Ronnie sure did have a way with words....."the great communicator"!

[rbsivley]

Thanks Raymond.