Why Trump wants to change Veterans Day to Victory Day in controversial proposal
President Donald Trump announced his intention to commemorate America's World War veterans earlier this week by announcing plans to change the official name of the day.
Trump appeared at the Arlington National Cemetery on Tuesday (11 November) - a date also known as 'Remembrance Day' in the UK-to serve to memorialise the millions of British lives lost in the two battles.
Meanwhile, in the US, the federal holiday has long been known as 'Veterans Day', and honours military veterans of the United States Armed Forces.
The day was initially known as 'Armistice Day' in the States, first having been observed in 1919 following the conclusion of the First World War.
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In 1954, however, it was changed to 'Veterans Day' by Congress to include victims of later conflicts.
Trump began his address yesterday: "On this day 107 years ago, the immortal causes of liberty, sovereignty, and human dignity were secured in glory at the conclusion of World War I, one of the most extraordinary displays of US military might in the history of our country.
"Today, we remember the sacrifice of every hero of freedom who shed his blood for the survival of our civilisation, and we renew our pledge to always defend the needs, values, and interests of the American people first."
However, the 79-year-old also took the opportunity to air his grievances over the fact that the day serves to remember those who died, rather than the battles themselves.
Believing the US deserves a mightier shout-out for its contribution to the defeat of Germany and the Navi regime, the 79-year-old told attendees around 10 minutes into his speech that he sought to change the official name of 'Veterans Day' to 'Victory Day'.
"When I see other countries celebrating Victory Day," he began. "They were selling celebrating victory day World War II. And I said, we got to have a Victory Day. Nobody even talked about it in our country."
The Republican went on to compare the elaborate celebration that takes place in France on 8 May each year for Victory in Europe Day (VE Day), which serves to celebrate the Allied defeat of Nazi Germany during WWII.
He also referenced Russia's celebration of its own 'Victory Day' on 9 May, which commemorates the almost 30 million Soviet citizens and militants who died or were injured during battle.
"From now on, we're going to be celebrating Victory Day for World War I, for World War II, and frankly, for everything else," Trump went on to vow.
However, national holidays must be created by Congress to be federally recognised.
This isn't the only occasion where the president has complained about America's supposed lack of credit for 'winning' both World Wars, as he'd previously said that he planned to make 8 May a national holiday called 'Victory Day for World War II' after seeing other European countries celebrate VE Day.
He even issued a proclamation stating this, which reads that 'without the sacrifice of our American soldiers, this war would not have been won, and our world today would look drastically different'.
In January, just days after his inauguration, he also authorised an executive order that would see US federal agencies using the title the 'Gulf of America' to describe the 'Gulf of Mexico', as part of an effort to 'restore American pride' and celebrate U.S. heritage.
And back in September, he changed the name of the country's 'Department of Defense' - which it had been known as since 1946 - to the 'Department of War', in a bid to '[restore] the pride and the winning spirit of the United States military'.
Topics: Donald Trump, US News, Politics, News
Rhianna Benson