Veterans Day is Sunday, November 11

Veterans Day is Sunday, November 11, one of six days during the year all postal facilities are required to display the POW-MIA flag.  According to Administrative Support Manual 476.1, when Veterans Day falls on a non-business day, postal facilities are required to display the POW-MIA flag on the last business day before the designated day — in this case, Saturday, November 10.  In honor of the Veterans Day holiday, there will be no regular mail delivery or retail service Monday, November 12.

Veterans Day, formerly known as Armistice Day, was originally set as a U.S. legal holiday to honor the end of World War I, which officially took place on November 11, 1918. In legislation that was passed in 1938, November 11 was "dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be hereafter celebrated and known as 'Armistice Day.'" As such, this new legal holiday honored World War I veterans. 

In 1954, after having been through World War II and the Korean War, the 83rd U.S. Congress -- at the urging of the veterans service organizations -- amended the Act of 1938 by striking out the word "Armistice" and inserting the word "Veterans." With the approval of this legislation on June 1, 1954, November 11 became a day to honor American veterans of all wars. 

In 1968, the Uniforms Holiday Bill ensured three-day weekends for federal employees by celebrating four national holidays on Mondays: Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and Columbus Day. Under this bill, Veterans Day was moved to the last Monday of October. Many states did not agree with this decision and continued to celebrate the holiday on its original date. The first Veterans Day under the new law was observed with much confusion on October 25, 1971. 

Finally on September 20, 1975, President Gerald R. Ford signed a law which returned the annual observance of Veterans Day to its original date of November 11, beginning in 1978. Since then, the Veterans Day holiday has been observed on November 11. 

Since the U.S. Postal Service began issuing stamps more than 150 years ago, many have commemorated veterans and accomplishments by our military.  For additional information, refer to Publication 528, “Veterans and the Military on Stamps” at http://www.usps.com/cpim/ftp/pubs/pub528.htm and Publication 529, “World War II:  A History of Stamps” at http://blue.usps.gov/cpim/ftp/pubs/pub529.htm.