Veterans Day originated as “Armistice Day” on Nov. 11, 1919, the first anniversary of the end of World War I.
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I believe WWI ended when an armistice document was signed at 11 AM, November 11, 1918.
The official, or diplomatic, end of World War I came later at the Treaty of Versailles, June 28, 1919. This treaty demanded war reparations.
Thanks. did you see my follow up post? I like to try the history questions without researching the answers first. (Don’t tell my former students! They’d love it if they knew Mrs. Blu not only allows Wiki, she uses it herself!)
Here’s some of what va.gov says:
“World War I – known at the time as “The Great War” - officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Palace of Versailles outside the town of Versailles, France. However, fighting ceased seven months earlier when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For that reason, November 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars.
[There is a photo that I don’t know how to post. Underneath the photo it says this:
Soldiers of the 353rd Infantry near a church at Stenay, Meuse in France, wait for the end of hostilities. This photo was taken at 10:58 a.m., on November 11, 1918, two minutes before the armistice ending World War I went into effect.]
In November 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day with the following words...
...The United States Congress officially recognized the end of World War I when it passed a concurrent resolution on June 4, 1926, with these words...’
https://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/vetdayhistory.asp