Clockwise: Reneau Johnston (left wheelchair), William Joe Lyle Jr., Troy Anderson, Dean Hardaway, Jerome Johnson, Ben Grosse, Don Olson, Gene Ganstrom and Charles Richey.
Honor Our Veterans
Veterans Day, formerly Armistice Day, is observed annually on November 11 to honor our military veterans. The first Armistice Day was observed in 1919. The United States Congress adopted a resolution on June 4, 1926 requesting President Calvin Coolidge issue annual proclamations calling for the observance of November 11 with appropriate ceremonies. A Congressional Act approved May 13, 1928 made the 11th of November a legal holiday. In 1945, World War II veteran Raymond Weeks had the idea to expand Armistice Day to celebrate all veterans, not just those how died in World War I. U.S. Representative Ed Rees, Emporia, presented a bill establishing the holiday through Congress, and President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the bill into law on May 26, 1954. Congress amendedteh bill on June 1, 1954 replac- ing Armistice with Veterans, and it has been known as Veterans Day since. The memorial located on the Cloud County Courthouse grounds pays tribute to veterans, living and dead, of Cloud County. (Blade photo by Jim Lowell)