Grundy Reporter

Illinois State Rep. Jackie Haas (R-Kankakee) recently attended several events in observance of Veterans Day.

In a Nov. 11 Facebook post, Haas shared photos of various Veterans Day events, writing, "Happy Veterans Day! It was my honor to attend several events honoring our veterans yesterday and today. Thank you to all who have served."

Haas shared another Facebook post with her thoughts about Veterans Day as well. "Today we honor the brave men and women who have served our country and fought to protect the freedoms we hold dear. Thank you, veterans, for your strength, courage, and dedication to our great nation. Happy Veterans Day!"

Veterans Day was first known as Armistice Day, celebrating the end of the First World War, when "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," according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

The first commemoration of the day was in November 1919, when President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the first Armistice Day. He said: "To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…"