A group including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth broke decorum and was loudly admonished by the Army sentinel at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery on Veterans Day. https://t.co/A9JdJYzL9U
"All visitors will maintain an atmosphere of silence and respect at all times!"
A Sentinel at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier yells after laughter could be heard from a group near Secretary Hegseth, who was taking posed photographs at the site.
A leader who can’t get their caucus to show up for work is not a leader capable of being an effective Speaker of the House.
@AyannaPressley would be a phenomenal choice. She campaigned in the South (incl. in Florida for Angie) and represents where the Democratic Party should be.
🚨BREAKING: Candidate for U.S. senator Mary Peltola (D) now significantly leads not just her main GOP opponent, Dan Sullivan, but both Sullivan candidates combined in Alaska’s high-stakes U.S. Senate race. https://t.co/EBPKUcLhgp
History of Veterans Day:
1921 - An unknown World War I American soldier was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Similar ceremonies occurred earlier in England and France, where an unknown soldier was buried in each nation's highest place of honor (in England, Westminster Abbey; in France, the Arc de Triomphe). These memorial services all took place on November 11, the anniversary of the end of World War I at 11:00 a.m., November 11, 1918 (the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month), which became known as Armistice Day.
1926 - Congress invited all Americans to observe Armistice Day, and then officially made it a national holiday in 1938. On June 1, 1954, the name was changed to Veterans Day to honor all U.S. Veterans.
1968 - New legislation changed the national commemoration of Veterans Day to the fourth Monday in October. However, it soon became apparent that November 11 was a date of historic significance to many Americans so in 1978 Congress returned the observance to its traditional date.
For generations, Black Americans have served in the U.S. military while returning home to a country that often denied them the same rights and dignity they had been asked to defend. Their service took place against a contradiction that defined much of American history: fighting for democracy abroad while segregation, discrimination and racial violence remained realities at home.
To those who served and loved the country that did not love them back. Happy #VeteransDay
During World War II, more than one million Black Americans served in the armed forces. They served in segregated units, faced discrimination in military facilities and were often denied the same opportunities for promotion and recognition as white servicemen. The Tuskegee Airmen became famous for their combat record, while the Montford Point Marines served in a Marine Corps that had excluded Black men from its ranks until 1942.
Black veterans also became important figures in the struggle for civil rights. Returning servicemen expected the freedoms they had defended overseas to apply to them at home. Some faced violence simply for wearing their uniforms. Veterans such as Isaac Woodard, who was brutally attacked and blinded by a South Carolina police chief shortly after returning from World War II, became symbols of the injustice Black servicemen encountered.
Their story continued through Korea, Vietnam and later conflicts. Military service did not erase racism, but Black veterans repeatedly challenged the idea that citizenship and sacrifice could be separated by race.
This Veterans Day, remembering Black veterans means honoring both their service and the difficult history surrounding it. They served a country that was often unwilling to fully recognize them, yet their courage helped expand the meaning of American citizenship for generations that followed.