What you should know about Veterans Day, which is celebrated this November 11

(CNN) – Veterans Day is a holiday honoring men and women who have served in the US military and is celebrated on November 11, the anniversary of the end of the First World War.

Facts

According to the most recent data from National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics:

There are approximately 19.5 million veterans in the United States.

There are approximately 2 million female veterans.

As of June 2021, there are 5.18 million veterans who receive disability compensation.

Chronology

November 11, 1918 – The armistice that ends the First World War begins at 11 am.

1919 – US President Woodrow Wilson proclaims November 11 as Armistice Day.

November 11, 1921 – The first Unknown Soldier is reburied in Arlington National Cemetery. The tomb is inscribed with the words: “Here rests in honorable glory an American soldier known but by God.”

May 13, 1938 – Armistice Day becomes a federal holiday.

June 1, 1954 – President Dwight Eisenhower signs a bill that changes Armistice Day to Veterans Day to include all US veterans.

May 30, 1958 – Unknown soldiers from WWII and the Korean War are buried alongside the Unknown Soldier from WWI.

1968 – Congress changes the date of Veterans Day to the fourth Monday in October to give federal employees a three-day weekend. The change begins in 1971.

September 25, 1975 – President Gerald Ford changes the date of Veterans Day to November 11. The change begins in 1978.

May 28, 1984 – An unknown soldier from the Vietnam War is buried in Arlington Cemetery. In 1998, he is identified by DNA tests as Michael Blassie, a 24-year-old pilot killed in 1972 on the Cambodian border.