Tuesday marks the 95th observance of Veteran's Day, which began as "Armistice Day" in 1919 to commemorate the end of the fighting in World War I - at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918.
Since 1954 - when the name was changed to "Veteran's Day" - the federal holiday has been designated as a day to remember and honor all who have served in the U.S. armed forces.
A number of events are scheduled in Jefferson City Tuesday, including:
• 8:30 a.m. - St. Peter Catholic Church Veteran's Day Mass.
• 9:30 a.m. - East Side Business Association "Veterans Tribute" at Freedom Corner - where East High and East McCarty streets meet.
Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander, a former U.S. Army captain whose service included a tour in Afghanistan, will give some remarks, and the keynote speaker is Maj. Gen. Stephen L. Danner, adjutant general of the Missouri National Guard.
Students from several area schools will participate, providing music, the Pledge of Allegiance and a 21-Gun salute.
• 11 a.m. - Annual Jefferson City Veterans Council Veteran's Day Observance in the Capitol Rotunda.
Don Hentges, the council's president and a Vietnam veteran, is the featured speaker. He also is expected to announce a major event that will happen next year.
• 1 p.m. - Lincoln University will name the large, second-floor meeting room in Soldiers Hall - the ROTC building - for the late U.S. Rep. Ike Skelton, who was the featured speaker at an annual Veteran's Day Breakfast every year for nearly a quarter century. Skelton's career in Congress included serving as chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.
A student of military history, he was a strong backer of both Whiteman Air Force Base, Knob Noster, which became the home of the B-2 "Stealth" bomber largely through his efforts, and of the Army's Fort Leonard Wood Base, St. Robert, which he was instrumental in helping expand.
• 1:30 p.m. - Lincoln University will have a parade/walk from the ROTC building to the Soldiers Memorial in the Quadrangle.
• 2 p.m. - Lincoln University will host a Veteran's Day program at the Soldiers Memorial, on Chestnut Street between Young Hall and the Scruggs University Center (Student Union) buildings.
LU graduate Maj. Gen. Hank Stratman (U.S. Army, retired) will be the featured speaker, and the program also will include the dedication of a plaque honoring Skelton.
The plaque will feature "In Flanders Field," a poem about World War I that Skelton used as part of his speech at the annual ROTC breakfast.