American Legion Davidson-Haltom Post 157 in Henderson will host a celebration ceremony on Veteran’s Day, Friday morning, November 11th, at 11 AM in the Council Chambers on the 2nd floor of Henderson City Hall in Henderson, TN to honor all military veterans who sacrificed their time, and often their lives, to safeguard the United States of America. The public is encouraged to attend the one-hour ceremony.
Giving the Keynote Address titled “American Veterans - Our Oath and Duty” will be Mr. Bon Hendry, a retired veteran of the US Marine Corps. Mr. Hendry graduated from the US Naval Academy but decided to serve in the Marine Corps Infantry. He served 12 years on active duty before serving in the Individual Ready Reserve for 8 years before returning to the Marine Corps for another year after the terrorist attacks on America on 9/11/01. Following a corporate career, he is now a small business owner.
Local singing sensation, Ms. Lakelin Lemmings, has graciously agreed to sing the National Anthem and other patriotic and gospel songs during the ceremony.
Veteran’s Day celebrations originated as “Armistice Day” and were celebrated every year on November 11th to mark the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, France at 5:45 am. The cessation of hostilities on the Western Front of World War I took effect at eleven o’clock in the morning—the “eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month”.
While the Treaty of Versailles that officially ended hostilities between the Allied and Axis powers were not actually signed until June 28, 1919. But almost everyone worldwide celebrates the 1918 armistice that ended armed conflict as the end of World War One.
“Armistice Day” on November 11th became a national holiday beginning in 1938. In 1954 Congress changed the name to Veteran’s Day” and President Eisenhower issued the first Veteran’s Day Proclamation.
