Kenny Johnson, a retired Air Force veteran, looks upon a grave at Mound City National Cemetery during Veterans Day on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020 in Mound City, Ill. Johnson has only been coming to the cemetery for the last couple of years, but says he finds it to be a peaceful place to go and walk down row by row, reading information from soldiers’ tombstones. (Jared Treece | @bisalo )
Kenny Johnson, a retired Air Force veteran, looks upon a grave at Mound City National Cemetery during Veterans Day on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020 in Mound City, Ill. Johnson has only been coming to the cemetery for the last couple of years, but says he finds it to be a peaceful place to go and walk down row by row, reading information from soldiers’ tombstones.

Jared Treece | @bisalo

Gallery: Veteran’s Day 2020

November 11, 2020

The country honored its past and present veterans on Wednesday with various parades and events across the nation.

Southern Illinois was no different, SIU held the annual laying of the Veteran’s Wreath by the Air Force and Army ROTC cadets at 11:11 a.m. at the flag pole leading into campus from Mill St. The on-campus tradition dates back to 1981, according to a press release from the university.

Veteran’s Day was initially known as “Armistice Day,” which honored the end of World War I occurring on Nov. 11, 1918, at 11:11 a.m. Veteran’s Day, in its current form, became a national holiday in 1938. The day is meant to honor the sacrifices of those who served and have served in the nation’s armed forces.

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