On this day we honor and thank all those who have served in the military to defend and protect our great nation. The first Veteran’s Day or Armistice Day was on November 11, 1918, this date in history is often regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars.” This armistice or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.
In November of 1919, President Thomas Woodrow Wilson, the 28th President of the United States,  proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day with the following words: “To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…”

On June 1, 1954 President Eisenhower signed legislation changing the name of the legal holiday from Armistice Day to Veteran’s Day.

The young artist who created “Remembering the Brave” remarked, “I chose to represent Veterans’ Day because both of my grandfathers were in world wars. I wanted to honor them.”

History of Veterans Day: http://www.history.army.mil/html/reference/holidays/vetsday/vetshist.html
More information: http://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/vetdayhistory.asp