Service members, families observe Veterans Day

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Grace Nichols
  • 19th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

Service members, families and community members from the surrounding area observed Veterans Day by placing flags on the graves of service members at the Arkansas State Veterans Cemetery in North Little Rock, Nov. 7, 2018.

The remembrance was carried out at other cemeteries throughout the state as a precursor to Veterans Day, Nov. 11, 2018.

Veterans Day is commemorated with ceremonial events such as parades and wreath-laying ceremonies to honor those who have served, and those who continue to serve.

“Coming out here with my fellow service members and community was a great exercise in camaraderie,” said Staff Sgt. Frank Mitchell, volunteer and 19th Logistics Readiness Squadron individual protective equipment supervisor. “Honoring veterans with the flag we all enlisted under gives me the sense of serving alongside them.”

Veterans Day originated as Armistice Day, Nov. 11, 1919, a year after the end of World War I. Congress passed a resolution in 1926 for an annual observance, and Nov. 11 became a national holiday beginning in 1938.

“The patriots that were called before us, fought for and secured the way of life we cherish today,” said U.S. Air Force Gen. Maryanne Miller, Air Mobility Command commander, in her Veterans Day message. “Now, you have volunteered to pick up that sacred mantle and carry it for America. We are humbled to earn the lifelong title of Veteran because it carries with it the love, respect and trust of our nation.”