    [United States Statutes at Large, Volume 117, 108th Congress, 1st Session]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    EMPORIA, KANSAS--FOUNDING CITY OF VETERANS DAY
    <>

    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;

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    117 STAT. 2959

    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.

    Agreed to October 31, 2003.