There are a number of notable rockers and other celebrities who served in the military. However, there are also a number of entertainers you may not remember also enlisted.
This Veterans Day, we take a look at some celebrities you may have forgotten were also veterans.
But First, Some Facts About Veterans Day!
Per the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Day is observed on November 11 to honor the end of World War I. While the Treaty of Versailles officially brought an end to WWI on June 28, 1919, fighting in “The Great War” ended seven months prior “on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.” Because of the end of the fighting, President Woodrow Wilson declared the occasion “Armistice Day” in November 1919.
It wasn’t until 1968 that the United States officially made “Armistice Day” a legal holiday. At that time, the holiday was a way to honor WWI veterans. Following World War II and the Korean War, Congress changed the holiday’s name to Veterans Day in 1954 to honor all American war veterans.
However, there was a brief period of time when Veterans Day didn’t fall on November 11. In 1968, the Uniform Holiday Bill was signed into law. This law ensured four national holidays — Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Veterans Day and Columbus Day — all fell on Mondays. The purpose of doing this was to encourage potential travel and other recreational activities due to a three-day weekend.
While the law was well-intentioned, the VA notes, “It was quite apparent that the commemoration of this day was a matter of historic and patriotic significance to a great number of our citizens, and so on September 20th, 1975, President Gerald R. Ford signed Public Law 94-97 (89 Stat. 479), which returned the annual observance of Veterans Day to its original date of November 11, beginning in 1978. This action supported the desires of the overwhelming majority of state legislatures, all major veterans service organizations and the American people.”
