U.S. Representative Ed Rees introduced the 1954 bill that renamed Armistice Day Veterans Day.
Rees was a Republican congressman from Kansas who represented the state’s 4th congressional district. His proposal broadened the holiday’s purpose beyond honoring veterans of World War I, whose 1918 armistice had originally inspired Armistice Day.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the legislation on June 1, 1954. The change reflected the fact that the United States had fought in World War II and the Korean War since the original holiday was established.
A common mix-up is attributing the renaming bill to Eisenhower himself. Eisenhower signed it and issued the first Veterans Day proclamation, but the legislation was introduced in Congress by Representative Ed Rees.