INDIANAPOLIS — Veterans Day will be observed on Monday, Nov. 11. It is a federal holiday, meaning that the post offices will be closed an no mail that day. All federal, state, and local offices will also be closed. Most banks will also be closed on that day.
Veterans will be celebrated at the annual Veterans Day Service on Monday, Nov. 11 at 11 a.m. at the Indiana War Memorial, 55 E. Michigan St. There will be speakers, a wreath laying ceremony, a flyover performed by the Indiana National Guard, and the tolling of the U.S.S. Indianapolis bell in tribute to those who serve.
The parade begins at noon, starting at Michigan and Pennsylvania, west to New York, and then north on Meridian St.
Veterans Day commemorates the end of World War I on Nov. 11, 1918. In November 1919, President Wilson proclaimed the day as Armistice Day, and Congress officially declared it a national holiday in 1938. The day was originally used to commemorate the service of World War I veterans, but in 1954, Congress amended the act to include all veterans of all conflicts, including those in Korea and World War II, changing the name to Veterans Day.
There are currently 16.2 million veterans alive today, from World War II through the Gulf War, per USA Facts. Only about 182.6 thousand World War II veterans are alive as of 2021. Vietnam era veterans comprise about 5.6 million. Gulf War veterans from 1990-2001 number 3.9 million, and 4.1 million Gulf War veterans who served after 9/11.