President Gerald Ford signed the law restoring Veterans Day to November 11 beginning in 1978.
The date had been moved to the fourth Monday in October under the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. That change began in 1971 and was intended to create predictable three-day weekends for several federal holidays.
Veterans’ organizations and others argued that moving the observance weakened its connection to the November 11, 1918, armistice. Congress responded by restoring the traditional date. President Ford signed the legislation in 1975, and the November 11 observance resumed in 1978.
This history produces an occasional calendar mix-up: the holiday was officially called Veterans Day throughout the period, but its federal observance date temporarily moved. The enduring historical date is November 11, while a nearby weekday may be used for administrative observance when November 11 falls on a weekend.