Veterans Day ceremonies to be held Saturday in Riverhead and at Calverton National Cemetery

Saturday is Veterans Day, a holiday to honor America’s veterans for their patriotism, love of country and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.

Prior to 1954, Nov. 11 was known as Armistice Day — the day in 1918 the armistice agreement was signed and the bloody, four-year “war to end all wars” that claimed the lives of more than 16 million people formally came to an end. The armistice took effect at the 11th hour of the 11th day in the 11th month of 1918.

Armistice Day was a day dedicated to the cause of world peace. In 1938, Congress made Armistice Day a national holiday. In 1954, Armistice Day was renamed Veterans Day, a day to thank and honor our nation’s military veterans.

The Riverhead Combined Veterans Committee will host its annual Veterans Day ceremony on Saturday at 11 a.m. at the War Memorial monument on the corner of West Main and Court streets in Riverhead. The granite monument was dedicated on Memorial Day 1920 to the nearly 300 Riverhead men who fought in World War I — and the nine who made the ultimate sacrifice. See: “With 300 native sons fighting in Europe, Riverhead celebrated the armistice with parades, parties and prayers.”

Veterans Day ceremonies will take place at Calverton National Cemetery at 1 p.m. on Saturday. The ceremonies are held in the assembly area.

Veterans are “the solid-steel backbone of our Nation, and we must endeavor to continue being worthy of their sacrifices by working toward a more perfect Union and protecting the freedoms that they have fought to defend,” President Joe Biden said in his 2023 Veterans Day proclamation.

“In respect and recognition of the contributions our veterans and their families, caregivers, and survivors have made to the cause of peace and freedom around the world, the Congress has provided (5 U.S.C. 6103(a)) that November 11 of each year shall be set aside as a legal public holiday to honor our Nation’s veterans.”