Veterans Day is a day of commemoration celebrated in the United States on November 11th, the day of the World War I armistice, in memory of war veterans. In Great Britain and the associated states of the Commonwealth, it is called «Remembrance Day », in France and Belgium «Jour du Souvenir » or « Armistice Day ».
In the United States, the holiday was originally called Armistice Day and was celebrated in honor of Americans who had participated in World War I. Today it is a commemoration day to honor all war veterans from all wars in which the United States participated. War veterans' associations organize parades or other special celebrations, and the President or other senior government officials lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.
The annual memorial services are coordinated and invited to by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), which is responsible for, among other things, taking care of 123 cemeteries in the United States. The American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) is responsible for 24 foreign military cemeteries, most of which are located in Europe.
