On November 11th, 1918, the Germans and the Allies signed a treaty in the Forest of Compiegne in France ending World War I. Armistice Day, as it was known then, ended four years of bloody conflict. People throughout the world blew whistles, held impromptu parades, closed places of business and paid tribute to their fallen soldiers. In the U.S., Armistice Day was observed in 1919 and beyond with veteran's parades, religious and secular services and two minutes of silence to honor the dead. In 1920, the British Unknown Soldier was buried in Westminster Abbey and the French Unknown Soldier at the Arc De Triomphe in Parish, where a perpetual flame burns. .
In 1921, the American Unknown Soldier, found in a battleground in Germany, arrived in Washington, D.C. and was taken to the U.S. Capitol. Thousands of people passed by to pay tribute. Flags were flown at half-mast from sunrise to sunset and all Americans paid silent tribute at 11 a.m. The casket was lowered into the tomb at that time on November 11, 1921, with the inscription, "Here rests in honored glory An American Soldier Known but to God." In 1927, Congress asked officials to display the flag on all government buildings and invited the public to observe the day in schools and churches. But not until 1938 did Congress pass a bill that each November 11 would be "dedicated to the cause of world peace" and celebrated and known as Armistice Day. ON May 13th, 1938 President Franklen Roosevelt approved Arministice Day in Public Law-510.
The American Legion usually took charge of the observances in various cities, where parades and religious services were held. At 11 a.m., in tribute to the dead, all traffic was stopped, volleys were fired and taps were sounded. But "the war to end all wars," as World War I was known, was not the last. During World War II, nearly 407,000 soldiers died in service, more than 292,000 of them in battle. To honor these new veterans, Emporia, Kansas, on November 11, 1953, decided to hold a Veteran's Day observance rather than an Armistice Day program.
