Veterans Day originated as “Armistice Day” on Nov. 11, 1919, the first anniversary of the end of World War I. Congress passed a resolution in 1926 making it an annual observance, and it became a national holiday in 1938. Sixteen years later, then-President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed legislation changing the name to Veterans Day to honor all those who served their country during war or peacetime. On this day, the nation honors military veterans — living and dead — with parades and other observances across the country and a ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
The following facts are made possible by the invaluable responses to U.S. Census Bureau surveys. We appreciate the public’s cooperation as we continuously measure America’s people, places and economy.
Veteran Population
15.8 million
The number of military veterans in the United States in 2023, representing 6.1% of the total civilian population age 18 and over.
Honoring Our Nation’s Veterans
1.7 million
The number of female veterans in the United States in 2023, representing 10.9% of the total veteran population.
0.6%
The share of veterans in 2023 who served during World War II. Additionally, 3.5% of veterans served during the Korean War; 33.0% during the Vietnam War; 24.8% during the Persian Gulf War; and 28.0% during the Post-9/11 period (September 2001 to present).
8.6%
The percentage of veterans in 2023 who were Hispanic or Latino (of any race). Additionally, 72.2% of veterans were White alone (not Hispanic or Latino); 12.6% Black or African American alone; 2.0% Asian American alone; 0.8% American Indian or Alaska Native alone; 0.2% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander alone; and 2.8% Some Other Race alone. The percentages include only those who reported a single race.
27.9%
The share of veterans 75 and older in 2023. At the other end of the age spectrum, 8.3% of veterans were younger than age 35.
As of 2021, there were over 200,000 living United States veterans who served in the Second World War. The Department of Veteran Affairs projects that the number of living veterans will decline rapidly in the fifteen years until 2036, at which point just a few hundred Americans who served in the war will be still alive. The passing of the “Greatest Generation” is seen as symbolic by some, as for many people they represented the era when the United States’ power on the world stage was at its greatest. The Second World war is particularly remembered as a “just” war in the U.S., as the United States was seen as fighting for democracy and self-determination, and against the tyrannies of Fascism, Nazism, and Japanese Imperialism.
The United States’ involvement in the Second World War
World War II marked the peak in military enlistments in U.S. history, with over 16 million service members serving worldwide during the conflict. The U.S. joined the war in 1941 due to Imperial Japan’s attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, before joining the European theater of the war in 1944 during the Invasion of Normandy. The U.S. military played a vital role in the defeat of Nazi Germany on the Western Front in May 1945, while the Soviet Red Army defeated the Wehrmacht in the East. The U.S. was also vital in the defeat of Fascist Italy, as they had led an allied invasion force onto the Italian peninsula from Northern Africa in September 1943. The final action of the war took place in the Asian theater of war, as Imperial Japan was the last of the Axis powers to concede defeat to the Allies. The United States effectively ended the war with the dropping of two nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, leading to as many as a quarter of a million deaths. It remains to this day the sole use of atomic weapons in an active conflict.
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs had outlays of about 303.15 billion U.S. dollars in 2023. By 2029, the outlays of the Department of Veterans Affairs are expected to increase to about 458.5 billion U.S. dollars.
Discussion about this post