Dallas, Texas -- The Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery will host a ceremony on Veterans Day at 11:00 a.m. Thursday, November 11, 2021 to honor and celebrate our nation’s heroes.

The keynote speaker is Captain Mark McLean, Commanding Officer of the Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base. 

In partnership with the Texas National Cemetery Foundation, the ceremony will feature the U.S. Army 1st Cavalry Division Band, the Midlothian High School Choir, the Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base’s Color Guard, a flyover by the Air Force Reserves’ 457th Squadron, and a rifle salute by the 2nd Battalion, 14th Marine Regiment. 

Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery is located at 2000 Mountain Creek Parkway, Dallas, TX 75211.

“We encourage everyone to join us on November 11 to honor and give thanks to our nation’s heroes,” said Larry Williams, Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery director. “As Winston Churchill said, “Never was so much owed by so many to so few.”

In 1921, an unknown World War I American soldier was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. This site, on a hillside overlooking the Potomac River and the city of Washington, D.C., became the focal point of reverence for America’s Veterans.

Similar ceremonies occurred earlier in England and France, where an unknown soldier was buried in each nation’s highest place of honor. These memorial gestures all took place on November 11, giving universal recognition to the celebrated ending of World War I fighting at 11 a.m., November 11, 1918 (the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month). The day became known as “Armistice Day.”

The first celebration using the term, “Veterans Day,” occurred in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1947 on Armistice Day. Raymond Weeks, a World War II Veteran, organized "National Veterans Day," which included a parade and other festivities, to honor all Veterans. Later, U.S. Representative Edward Rees of Kansas proposed a bill that would change Armistice Day to Veterans Day. In 1954, Congress passed the bill that President Eisenhower signed proclaiming November 11 as Veterans Day.

Located in Dallas, the 638-acre Dallas Fort Worth National Cemetery opened in 2000. Since that time, the cemetery has conducted more than 75,000 interments of Veterans and eligible dependents.

Burial in a VA national cemetery is open to all members of the armed forces and Veterans who have met minimum active duty service requirements, as applicable by law and were discharged under conditions other than dishonorable. Members of the reserve components of the armed forces who die while on active duty under certain circumstances or who die while on training duty are also eligible for burial, as are service members and former service members who were eligible for retired pay at the time of their death. Spouses, minor children and, under certain conditions, dependent unmarried adult children are also eligible for burial even if they predecease the Veteran.

VA offers a new way to pay tribute to Veterans on the Veterans Legacy Memorial (VLM) website. The site, originally launched in 2019, contains a memorial page for each Veteran and service member interred in a VA national cemetery. The online tribute allows visitors to voice memories and appreciation for a Veteran’s service. All comments will be reviewed for appropriateness prior to being posted.

For more information, call 800-535-1117 or visit www.cem.va.gov.