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US Honors Nearly 22M Former Service Members on Veterans Day

by Wayne Lee

   U.S. President Barack Obama will honor the nation's nearly 22 million
   veterans Friday morning at Arlington National Cemetery just south of
   the capital city of Washington.

   Obama will participate in a full honor wreath-laying ceremony at the
   Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a monument dedicated to unidentified
   military service members who sacrificed their lives.

   The president hosted a White House breakfast earlier Friday morning for
   veterans and their families.

   Bill Mohr, a 108-year-old World War II veteran, was among those who
   attended the annual breakfast. Mohr, who lives in the northeastern city
   of Hatboro, Pennsylvania, was an army sergeant with the 45th Infantry
   Division. His daughter said Mohr participated in Operation Dragoon in
   France and was among those who marched into Germany to liberate the
   Dachau concentration camp.

   U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said he is spending Veterans Day
   focusing on the formation of a new administration. In a tweet posted
   Friday morning, Trump said "very important" decisions about who will
   help him govern will soon be announced.

   Origin of holiday
   Service members are honored annually on Veterans Day, November 11, the
   anniversary of the end of World War I. It was originally proclaimed by
   President Woodrow Wilson as Armistice Day in 1919 and became a U.S.
   federal holiday in 1938. President Dwight Eisenhower signed a bill in
   1954 that changed Armistice Day to Veterans Day so that all veterans
   could be honored.

   Of the 21.7 million veterans in the U.S., 4.3 million receive some form
   of disability compensation from the federal government, according to
   the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Nearly 530,000 veterans are
   classified as 100 percent disabled. Nearly 300,000 veterans receive
   pensions from the federal government.

   Madeline Fucile, 96, of Centerville, Mass., left, visits the grave of
   her husband World War II U.S. Navy veteran Dominic Fucile, accompanied
   by her friend Beverly Donheiser, of Cotuit, Mass., right, in
   Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne, Mass.

   There are about 40,000 veterans who are spending this Veterans Day
   without a home to live in, according to the National Coalition for
   Homeless Veterans. The group estimates another 1.4 million veterans are
   at risk of being homeless.

   The Department of Veterans Affairs encourages people to donate to
   regional Veterans Administration hospitals or volunteer by registering
   on its [1]Voluntary Service page.

   The U.S. Department of Labor helps match employers with qualified
   veterans. Details are available at [2]https://www.dol.gov/vets/.

References

   1. http://www.volunteer.va.gov/
   2. https://www.dol.gov/vets/