The Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery is hosting a Veterans Day ceremony to honor and celebrate the nation’s heroes.
Where: Dallas Fort Worth National Cemetery
When: Nov. 11, 2023 | 11 a.m.
In partnership with the Texas National Cemetery Foundation, the ceremony will feature a keynote speech from U.S. Marine Corps Major General Craig Timberlake, the Midlothian High School Choir, the Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base’s Color Guard, a flyover by the Marine Aviation Group 41 and a rifle salute by Marine Aircraft Group 41.
“We encourage everyone to join us on November 11 to honor and give thanks to our nation’s heroes,” said Larry Williams, Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery director. "As Winston Churchill said, “Never was so much owed by so many to so few."
The ceremony will take place at the 638-acre Dallas Fort Worth National Cemetery, which opened in 2000. Since that time, the cemetery has conducted about 85,000 interments of Veterans and eligible dependents.
The ceremony will begin Saturday, Nov. 11 at 11 a.m., at the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery located at 2000 Mountain Creek Parkway in Dallas. Attendees are encouraged to arrive early and bring a lawn chair.
The History of Veterans Day
In 1921, an unidentified American soldier from World War I found his final resting place at Arlington National Cemetery, perched on a hillside with a commanding view of the Potomac River and the nation's capital, Washington, D.C. This sacred site became a focal point of deep reverence for the United States' veterans.
Prior to this, England and France had already conducted similar ceremonies, interring unknown soldiers in their respective countries' most esteemed locations. These poignant memorials all occurred on November 11, paying universal homage to the momentous conclusion of World War I at precisely 11 a.m. on November 11, 1918 – aptly named "Armistice Day."
The inaugural observance of "Veterans Day" took place in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1947, coinciding with Armistice Day. Raymond Weeks, a veteran of World War II, spearheaded "National Veterans Day," featuring a parade and various festivities, to honor all veterans. U.S. Representative Edward Rees of Kansas introduced a bill seeking to transform Armistice Day into Veterans Day. In 1954, Congress passed this bill, which President Eisenhower signed into law, officially designating November 11 as Veterans Day.
Fast forward to the year 2000, and we find the Dallas Fort Worth National Cemetery, a sprawling 638-acre expanse in Dallas, Texas, which was inaugurated. Since its inception, the cemetery has provided a final resting place for approximately 85,000 veterans and their eligible dependents through solemn interments.