Veterans Day in the United States

Yes. Veterans Day is one of the eleven legal public holidays set out in 5 U.S.C. § 6103. Federal offices close, federal employees receive the day off with pay, and every state observes it.

It honours all who have served in the United States armed forces, living and dead. Memorial Day in May is the separate observance for those who died in service.

Veterans Day is fixed to November 11, so it falls on a different weekday each year.

Because the date is fixed rather than tied to a weekday, the federal observed-date rule applies. Federal offices close on Friday November 10 when the 11th is a Saturday, and on Monday November 12 when it is a Sunday.

The armistice that ended the fighting of the First World War took effect at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918. The date was chosen for that reason and is shared with Remembrance Day and Armistice Day elsewhere.

Congress made November 11 a legal holiday as Armistice Day in 1938 and renamed it Veterans Day in 1954, broadening it to honour veterans of all wars.

The Uniform Monday Holiday Act moved Veterans Day to the fourth Monday in October from 1971. The change was unpopular, because the historic significance of November 11 was lost.

President Gerald Ford signed legislation returning it to November 11 with effect from 1978. It is the only federal holiday to have been moved to a Monday and then moved back.