Rock Island National Cemetery to commemorate Veterans Day

veterans day

The Rock Island National Cemetery will have a Veterans Day Ceremony on Monday, Nov. 11, at 1 p.m. at Committal Shelter 2 on Arsenal Island.

The keynote speaker will be Command Sgt. Maj. Christopher Prosser, the senior enlisted advisor of First Army. Mr. Prosser has served in various armor, infantry and cavalry units throughout his career that began in 1992. His service spans assignments across the country and overseas to include peacekeeping operations in Kosovo as well as combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Veterans Day Ceremony will include a wreath placement as well as an honor salute and taps.

Veterans Day is intended to thank and honor all those who served honorably in the military – in wartime or peacetime. A Congressional Act approved May 13, 1938, made the 11th of November in each year a legal holiday – a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as Armistice Day.

Armistice Day had primarily been a day set aside to honor veterans of World War I. However, following World War II and the Korean War, veterans service organizations urged Congress to amend the Act of 1938 by striking out the word “Armistice” and inserting in its place the word “Veterans.” With the approval of new legislation in 1954, Nov. 11 became a day to honor American veterans of all wars.

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