Veterans Day

Major Katie Lunning, Distinguished Flying Cross awardee and VA intensive care nurse manager, marks Veterans Day with a song.

Veterans Canteen Service celebrating Veterans Day with free breakfast and coffee and savings on tires and contact lenses.

This year, 56 communities across 29 states and the District of Columbia will host VA-recognized Veterans Day observances to pay tribute to America’s heroes. 

So that young Americans can better understand the sacrifice of Veterans, VA and the Veterans Day National Committee are pleased to present the 2024 Veterans Day Teacher’s Resource Guide as a tool to assist educators in planning lessons and activities around Veterans Day.

VA and the Veterans Day National Committee (VDNC) encourages cities, towns and non-profit groups to apply to hold VA-recognized regional Veterans Day observances. Here's how to apply.

Every week, VA sends a newsletter that is jam-packed with resources like free concert tickets, farming assistance, workout programs, national park passes and Veteran discounts on hundreds of services. VA makes no endorsements of the privately offered resources, but we share them to generate awareness of all that’s available to the Veteran community. Here are the Top 10 most popular Veteran resources from 2023:

Veterans Day National Ceremony is held on Nov. 11 at Arlington National Cemetery. A color guard honors America’s war dead in a ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Celebrating Veterans Day with special deals for Veterans, including free breakfast, coffee and shipping for online orders.

November marks National Veteran and Military Families Month, highlighted by Veterans Day on Saturday, November 11. This list of Veterans Day and Veterans Month events is organized by state and will continue to be updated as we learn of more events.

Memorial Day, which is observed on the last Monday in May, was originally set aside as a day for remembering and honoring military personnel who died in the service of their country, particularly those who died in battle or as a result of wounds sustained in battle.

World War I—known at the time as “The Great War”—officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Palace of Versailles near the town of Versailles, France. However, fighting ceased seven months earlier when an 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. For that reason, Nov. 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of “the way to end all wars.”

This year, Veterans Day ceremonies recognized by VA will be held in 66 communities throughout 34 states and the District of Columbia to honor the nation's veterans.