President Donald Trump announced Thursday the United States is “going to start celebrating our victories again” by renaming Veterans Day as “Victory Day for World War I” and establishing May 8 as “Victory Day for World War II.”
The revelation came on the President’s Truth Social account, with Trump writing:
Many of our allies and friends are celebrating May 8th as Victory Day, but we did more than any other Country, by far, in producing a victorious result on World War II. I am hereby renaming May 8th as Victory Day for World War II and November 11th as Victory Day for World War I. We won both Wars, nobody was close to us in terms of strength, bravery, or military brilliance, but we never celebrate anything.
Trump added, “That’s because we don’t have leaders anymore, that know how to do so! We are going to start celebrating our victories again!
The plan to rename Veterans Day would overwrite 87 years of precedent in recognizing Nov. 11 as a national holiday celebrating all veterans after it previously recognized only the end of World War I.
According to U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs:
Veterans Day was named in 1954, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed legislation changing the name of Armistice Day to Veterans Day. This change was prompted by veterans’ service organizations who wanted to broaden the scope of the holiday to honor all American veterans, not just those who served in World War I.
There was no indication from Trump whether he expects May 8 will also become a federal holiday like Veterans Day, although a decision on that designation would fall to Congress.
May 8, 1945, was the end of major fighting in the European arena of World War II, but fighting in the Pacific for U.S. and allied troops continued for nearly four more months, until Sept. 2 of that year.
File/Antioch, CA – November 11, 1945: Marines and sailors from Port Chicago Ammunition Depot march in a combined parade for veterans of World Wars I and II. (Oakland Tribune Photo via MediaNews Group/Oakland Tribune/Getty Images)
More than 407,000 U.S. troops were killed in fighting in World War II and another 671,000 wounded, according to the National World War II museum.
World War I also took many American lives, not all of them on the battlefield.
File/NOV 6 1958/ A tree is planted in National Cemetery at Ft. Logan for presentation during ceremonies on Veterans’ Day. The blue spruce is the gift of the Gold Star Mothers Assn. of which Mrs. Oretta Young (above) is president. With her (from left) are the Rev. James Moynihan; Verne Olson, director of the Veterans’ Day parade, and James P. Eakins, Colorado chairman for the observance. (Al Moldvay/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
The United States suffered 53,402 battle deaths in World War I, in less than six months of fighting, according to the National Park Services World War I Memorial. Another 63,114 died from accidents and disease.
After the Civil War and World War II, World War I is the deadliest war in American history.
Read the full article here