[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 159 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.Con.Res.159
                                              Agreed to October 31, 2003

                       One Hundred Eighth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE FIRST SESSION

          Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
           the seventh day of January, two thousand and three


                          Concurrent Resolution

Whereas in 1953, Alvin J. King of Emporia, Kansas, proposed that 
  Armistice Day be changed to Veterans Day to recognize and honor all 
  veterans from all wars and conflicts;

Whereas in 1953, Veterans Day was first organized and celebrated in 
  Emporia, Kansas;

Whereas although Alvin King was only 15 years old when the United 
  States went to war in 1917 and never served in the Armed Forces, he 
  had a deep respect for veterans;

Whereas Alvin King's stepson, John Cooper, whom he had raised, was 
  killed in action in Belgium during World War II while serving with 
  Rifle Company B, 137th Infantry Regiment;

Whereas after World War II, Alvin King developed friendships with the 
  surviving members of Rifle Company B, 137th Infantry Regiment;

Whereas in the early 1950s, Alvin King suggested either creating a 
  special day to honor all veterans or adapting Armistice Day so that 
  it was dedicated to all veterans since, at that time, Armistice Day 
  honored the veterans of World War I;

Whereas by 1953, the community of Emporia, Kansas, had raised enough 
  money to send Alvin King and his wife, Gertrude, to Washington, D.C. 
  to garner support for an official veterans day;

Whereas Alvin King had a friend and supporter in Representative Ed Rees 
  of Emporia, Kansas, who was strongly in favor of King's idea and said 
  ``it would give the holiday a new meaning and more widespread 
  patriotic observance'';

Whereas on June 1, 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was raised 
  in Kansas, signed into law the Act proclaiming November 11 as 
  Veterans Day (Public Law 380 of the 83rd Congress);

Whereas on October 8, 1954, President Eisenhower issued a presidential 
  proclamation concerning Veterans Day in 1954 in which he stated, ``On 
  that day let us solemnly remember the sacrifices of all those who 
  fought so valiantly, on the seas, in the air, and on foreign shores, 
  to preserve our heritage of freedom, and let us reconsecrate 
  ourselves to the task of promoting an enduring peace so that their 
  efforts shall not have been in vain''; and

Whereas the first nationwide observance of Veterans Day was on November 
  11, 1954: Now, therefore, be it

    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That Congress hereby--
        (1) encourages Americans to demonstrate their support for 
    veterans on Veterans Day by treating that day as a special day of 
    remembrance;
        (2) declares Emporia, Kansas, to be the founding city of 
    Veterans Day;
        (3) recognizes Alvin J. King, of Emporia, Kansas, as the 
    founder of Veterans Day; and
        (4) recognizes that Representative Ed Rees, of Emporia, Kansas, 
    was instrumental in the efforts to enact into law the observance of 
    Veterans Day.
  Attest:

                                 Clerk of the House of Representatives.

  Attest:

                                               Secretary of the Senate.