Veterans Day is celebrated on Nov. 11 in recognition of all former and current U.S. military members.

There are several parades and assemblies organized in recognition of Veterans Day, according to www.vetfriends.com.

At 9:30 a.m. on Nov. 11, Grant Foreman Elementary School in Muskogee will hold a “Stars and Stripes Forever” assembly where all Veterans are welcome.

At 9:30 a.m. on Nov. 12, the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma – City of Wewoka will be hosting a parade between Wewoka Avenue and 6th Street and Wewoka Avenue A.

At 10:30 a.m. on Nov. 12, Blanchard will have a Veterans Day Celebration and Chili Cook Off Toy Run. Motorcycles will be a part of the parade down Main Street.

At 10 a.m. on Nov. 19, an Armed Forces Day Parade will start at Cameron University in Lawton, ending at Avenue C.

For more information on Veterans’ Day, visit http://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/.

Veterans Day is a public holiday held on the anniversary of the end of World War I to honor U.S. veterans and victims of all wars.

Consistent with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, World War I was known as “The Great War,” which publicly ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Palace of Versailles outside the town of Versailles, France.

Conversely, fighting concluded seven months earlier when a temporary cessation of hostilities between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For that reason, Nov. 11, 1918, is largely deemed the end of “the war to end all wars.”

The upcoming date 11/11/11 marks the 93rd year the nation will recognize Veterans Day, possibly with more emotion as U.S. troops are still fighting a war in the Middle East.

To contact Francesca Banks, email onlineeditor@occc.edu.