In commemoration of Veterans Day, Kearny County Museum will be closed Friday, November 11. We appreciate our veterans, and to honor these patriots and their sacrifices, the museum has renovated our military display. Amy Fontenot, our Assistant Director, spent countless hours on arranging, researching and identifying every artifact and cataloging each one correctly in our system. The military display includes artifacts from the Civil and Spanish Wars, World Wars I and II, Korean War and Vietnam War. Among the items are uniforms from each branch of service, newspaper articles announcing the end of World War II, hard tack dating back to the 1800s, Calvary saddles and bits, mess kits, souvenirs brought from overseas, German artifacts, photographs and more. Amy has included personal information and pictures when possible with each uniform on display.
We invite the public to come view the display and the rest of our museum during regular business hours. And once again, to our veterans, thank you for your service!
World War I officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed June 28, 1919, outside the town of Versailles, France. However, fighting had ceased seven months earlier when an armistice between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For that reason, November 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars.”
In 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day. “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…”
An Act approved May 13, 1938, made the 11th of November a legal holiday to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as “Armistice Day.” Armistice Day was primarily a day set aside to honor veterans of World War I, but in 1954, after World War II had required the greatest mobilization of soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen in the Nation’s history; after American forces had fought aggression in Korea, the 83rd Congress, at the urging of the veterans service organizations, amended the Act of 1938 by striking out the word “Armistice” and inserting in its place the word “Veterans.” With the approval of this legislation on June 1, 1954, November 11th became a day to honor American veterans of all wars.
The Uniform Holiday Bill, signed June 28, 1968, was intended to ensure three-day weekends for Federal employees by celebrating four national holidays on Mondays: Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and Columbus Day. Many states did not agree with this decision and continued to celebrate the holidays on their original dates. The first Veterans Day under the new law was observed with much confusion on October 25, 1971. It was quite apparent that the commemoration of this day was a matter of historic and patriotic significance to a great number of Americans so on September 20th, 1975, President Gerald R. Ford returned the annual observance of Veterans Day to its original date of November 11. This action supported the desires of the overwhelming majority of state legislatures, all major veterans service organizations and citizens.
The restoration of the observance of Veterans Day to November 11 not only preserves the historical significance of the date, but helps focus attention on the important purpose of Veterans Day: A celebration to honor America’s veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.Source: US Department of Veteran Affairs