On Thursday, President Donald Trump declared that he would “celebrate our victory again” by renaming November 11 as “World War I Victory Day” and establishing May 8 as “World War II Victory Day.”
This announcement was shared on the President’s social media account, where Trump stated:
Many of our allies observe May 8 as victory day. They contributed significantly more than any other nation to achieving victory in World War II. Henceforth, I’ll refer to May 8 as World War II Victory Day and November 11 as World War I Victory Day. We triumphed in both conflicts. No other country matched our strength, bravery, or military prowess, yet we didn’t have much to celebrate.
Trump continued:
This renaming for Veterans Day contradicts the established practice since 1954, which designated November 11 as a national holiday to honor all veterans after originally signifying the end of World War I.
As noted by the US Veterans Affairs Bureau:
Veterans Day was established in 1954, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower enacted a law changing Armistice Day to Veterans Day. This adjustment was made at the request of a veterans’ organization seeking to honor all Americans who served, not just those who participated in World War I.
There was no mention from Trump regarding whether May 8 would be considered a federal holiday like Veterans Day, leaving that determination up to Congress.
May 8, 1945, marked the end of a major battle in Europe during World War II; however, the conflict in the Pacific continued for nearly four more months until September 2 of that year.
California File/Antioch – November 11, 1945: Marines and sailors from the Port Chicago Ammunition Depot march in parades honoring World War II veterans. (Photos of the Auckland Tribune via Medianews Group/Oakland Tribune/Getty Images)
In total, over 407,000 American soldiers lost their lives during World War II, with another 671,000 injured, according to the National World War II Museum.
World War I also claimed numerous American lives, although not all were lost on the battlefield.
File/November 6, 1958: A tree is planted at the National Cemetery in Fort Logan for the Veterans Day ceremony. This Blue Spruce was a gift from Gold Star Mother Asun. Mrs. Oletta Young (above) was the president at that time, along with Rev. James Moynihan and others. (Al Moldvay/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
The United States suffered 53,402 combat deaths in World War I, and an additional 63,114 died from accidents or illness, as noted by the National Park Service’s World War I Memorial. This war was, after the Civil War and World War II, the deadliest in American history.
