An American flag stands near the stone at the grave of U.S. Air Force Capt. Charles Malloy to mark Veterans Day in Fort Logan National Cemetery, Nov. 10, 2019, in Sheridan, Colo. (Photo: David Zalubowski/AP)
Today we mark the 101st anniversary of the armistice that ended the agony of the First World War. The armistice went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918, at what must have seemed at the time like the eleventh hour for Western civilization.
On its first anniversary, a hundred years ago today, the Wilson administration proclaimed the day “Armistice Day.” It became a national holiday in 1938, at a time when the commemoration of peace in Europe looked increasingly like a short-lived victory.In 1954, by order of President Dwight Eisenhower, Armistice Day was renamed Veterans Day.
President Donald Trump kicked off New York City's Veterans Day Tribute on Monday by saying the nation's veterans "risked everything for us. Now it is our duty to serve and protect them every single day of our lives."
Trump spoke at the opening of the 100th annual parade organized by the United War Veterans Council in Madison Square Park. He is the first sitting president to accept the group's invitation to speak at the event.
As Trump spoke, more than 100 protesters gathered and could be heard with whistles and booing. Some chanted "lock him up" and "shame, shame, shame."
Trump told the crowd that the nation's veterans often came face to face with evil and did not back down.
"You returned from war and you never forgot your friends who didn't return," Trump said. "But your greatest tribute of all is the way you lived your lives in the years since."
Trump also used the event to tout the strength of the U.S. military and the death of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, saying "al-Baghdadi is dead. His second in charge is dead. We have our eyes on number 3."
Trump has been a longtime supporter of the parade. The New York Times reported that during the 1990s he pledged $200,000 and offered to raise money from friends in exchange for being named the parade's grand marshal. (AP)
Katia, 11, left, and mother, Cindy Rodriguez, 48, sits curbside watching the parade while their 3 year-old Yorkshire Terrier, "Pixie', tries to keep cool during the city of Miami Lakes, Fla., Veterans Day Parade as veterans, Star Wars characters, cars, cheerleaders, school bands, flags, scouts, and others all paraded in honor veterans on Sunday, Nov. 10, 2019. (Photo: Carl Juste/Miami Herald via AP)
The sun sets behind the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Va., Nov. 10, 2019, in this slow-shutter speed exposure. Veterans Day will be celebrated in the United States on Monday. (Photo: J. David Ake/AP)
Boy Scout Christian Alize leads Cub and Boy Scouts of Troop 484 and 584 in carrying a large American flag as they participate in the city of Miami Lakes, Fla. on Nov. 10, 2019. (Photo: Carl Juste/Miami Herald via AP)
Democratic presidential hopeful Mayor Pete Buttigieg (L) walks through the New Hampshire State Veterans Cemetery in Boscawen, New Hampshire, on Nov. 11, 2019, with fellow veteran Thomas Gary, a senior petty officer at Naval Station Great Lakes, for a Veterans Day service as he continues his 4-day bus tour of the state. (Photo: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
Cadets hold portraits of loved ones who died during World War II at a Veterans Day Observance to honor "the 16 million men and women who served in World War II" in Washington, Nov. 11, 2019. (Photo: Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters)
Veterans listen as President Donald Trump speaks before the New York City Veterans Day Parade at Madison Square Park in New York, Nov. 11, 2019. (Photo: Andrew Harnik/AP)
President Donald Trump attends the New York City Veterans Day Parade at Madison Square Park in New York, Nov. 11, 2019. (Photo: Andrew Harnik/AP)
Protestors hold signs during a rally against US President Donald Trump, near the Veterans Day Parade on Nov. 11, at 2019 in New York City. (Photo: Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images)
Molly Jakubowski waves a flag as she walks through the New Hampshire State Veterans Cemetery in Boscawen, New Hampshire, on Nov. 11, 2019, during a Veterans Day service. (Photo: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
Veteran Robert Fulmer salutes during Veterans Day ceremony at the Korean War Memorial in Philadelphia, Nov. 11, 2019. (Photo: Matt Rourke/AP)
Protestors hold signs during a rally against US President Donald Trump, near the Veterans Day Parade on Nov. 11, at 2019 in New York City. (Photo: Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images)
American flags are posted in the ground ahead of a Veterans Day ceremony at the Vietnam War Memorial in Philadelphia, Nov. 11, 2019. (Photo: Matt Rourke/AP)
A visitor to the Korean War Memorial is seen on Veterans Day on Nov. 11, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)
A woman places her hand on the Vietnam War Memorial on Veterans Day on Nov. 11, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)
Tristan LaFlame, 4, kisses his mother, Elizabeth LaFlame, whose husband serves in the New Hampshire National Guard as they listen to the invocation during a Veterans Day ceremony at the New Hampshire State Veterans cemetery on Nov. 11, 2019 in Boscawen, New Hampshire. (Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Parade goers in Charleston, WV salute a giant American flag as it is carried along Capitol Street on Nov. 11, 2019 during the Charleston Veterans Day parade. (Photo: F. Brian Ferguson/Charleston Gazette-Mail via AP)
Retired Marine Paul Masi, of Bethpage, N.Y., pauses by the name of his high school classmate, Robert Zwerlein, at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on Veterans Day, Monday, November 11, 2019. Masi served in the 7th Engineers in Vietnam. (Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Men dressed as WWI era soldiers take part in the Veterans Day parade in New York on Nov. 11, 2019. (Photo: Brendan McDermid/Reuters)
15th Army Air Force veteran Ewing Miller, 96, poses with Ryver Witherington, 5, at the World War II Memorial on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, 2019. Millers B-24 bomber was shot down over Austria in February of 1945 and he served as a POW for the rest of the war. (Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
A man take a pitcures of an U.S. flag and a rose left by the portrait of a loved one at a Veterans Day Observance to honor the men and women who served in World War II in Washington, Nov. 11, 2019. (Photo: Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters)
A woman holds a sign as she watches the Veterans Day parade in New York on Nov. 11, 2019. (Photo: Brendan McDermid/Reuters)
Dan Wetzel, Ross Dellenger & SI’s Pat Forde react to the huge performance this weekend by Texas QB Arch Manning, Michigan and Notre Dame's spring games, Jaden Rashada entering the transfer portal, and more
Trump is entitled to an additional 36 million shares if the company's share price trades above $17.50 "for twenty out of any thirty trading days" over the next three years.
