Raymond Weeks is credited with organizing the first national Veterans Day celebration in Birmingham, Alabama.
Weeks was a World War I veteran who believed Armistice Day should honor all American veterans, not only those connected with World War I. He promoted the idea of expanding the holiday while working in Birmingham after the Second World War.
His first large celebration took place in 1947, several years before federal law changed the holiday’s name to Veterans Day. President Dwight D. Eisenhower later recognized Weeks’ work and presented him with the National Veterans Award in 1982.
A common mix-up is attributing the holiday’s creation entirely to Eisenhower. Eisenhower signed the 1954 renaming law, but Weeks had already organized the broader veterans’ observance. Birmingham continues to hold an annual Veterans Day celebration associated with his legacy.