CB03-FF.17 | October 28, 2003 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Quotes & radio sound bites | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Profile America | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Veterans Day 2003: Nov. 11 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Veterans Day originated as “Armistice Day,” which commemorated the end of World War I on Nov. 11, 1918. Proclaimed by Congress each year starting in 1926, Armistice Day became “Veterans Day” in 1954 as a result of legislation signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The intention of the name change was to honor all of those who served the nation in wars or conflicts. Veterans Day has been observed annually on this date since 1978, following a brief period of observance on the fourth Monday of October. Who Do We Celebrate Today? 1.6 million In the most recent period of service (August 1990 or later), women accounted for nearly 16 percent of all veterans. In contrast, women make up about 4 percent of World War II veterans and 2 percent of Korean War veterans. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2003/cb03-83.html> 9.7 million 57.4 2.6 million Vietnam-era veterans account for the largest share of all veterans, about 3-in-10. The next largest share, about 2-in-10, served during World War II. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2003/cb03-83.html> Where Do They Live? 27 The highest concentrations of Korean War and World War II veterans tend
to be in retirement areas of Florida, Arizona or California, as well as
other places with warm climates. Poverty Disabilities $18.5 billion Note: For Census 2000 data products, a “civilian veteran”
is a person 18 years old and over who, at the time of the enumeration,
had been on active duty in the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps
or Coast Guard in the past (even for a short time), but was not then on
active duty, or who had served in the Merchant Marine during World War
II. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
[PDF] or
denotes a file in Adobe’s Portable Document Format.
To view the file, you will need the
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader
available free from Adobe.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau | Public Information Office | Last Revised: April 17, 2009
|