St. Cloud Veterans Day Ceremony Set for November 11th at the VA

(KNSI) – Central Minnesotans will have a chance to honor local veterans next month at the St. Cloud VA Medical Center’s annual Veterans Day ceremony.

The ceremony, hosted by the St. Cloud Metro Vets and the St. Cloud VA Health Care System, begins at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 11th, in the auditorium of Building 8 on the VA campus at 4801 Veterans Drive. Veterans, their families and the public are welcome, and parking is available on the north and east sides of Building 8.

Veterans Day traces its roots to the end of World War I. The fighting stopped on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918, and the date was first marked as Armistice Day. President Dwight Eisenhower renamed it Veterans Day in 1954, broadening it to honor veterans of every war. Unlike Memorial Day, which remembers those who died in service, Veterans Day honors everyone who has served in the U.S. military, living or dead.

The St. Cloud Metro Vets is a coalition of local veterans service organizations that formed in the 1960s to bring the area’s veterans events together under one umbrella.

Veterans and active military members can also ride Metro Bus for free on Veterans Day. Metro Bus serves St. Cloud, Sartell, Sauk Rapids and Waite Park, and riders should be ready to show a military ID when boarding.

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