Armed Forces Day is celebrated on the third Saturday in May, and it is the day Americans celebrate their military. In 2022, it falls on Saturday, May 21.
Unlike Veterans Day (previously observed as Armistice Day – the end of World War I), which honors those who wore the cloth of our nation at war; and unlike Memorial Day, which honors those who died wearing the cloth of our nation at war, Armed Forces Day is the proper day to honor all of the men and women currently serving, as well as those who have served and sacrificed to defend our freedom.
Armed Forces Day was created on August 31, 1949, by then-Secretary of Defense, Louis Johnson, to replace separate Army, Navy and Air Force Days. The event stemmed from the Armed Forces’ unification under one Department of Defense by then-President Harry S. Truman when he signed the National Security Act into law on July 26, 1947.
According to the Department of Defense, originally, Armed Forces Day was a type of “educational program for civilians,” one in which there would be an increased awareness of the Armed Forces. It was designed to expand public understanding of what type of job is performed and the role of the military in civilian life. It was a day for the military to show “state-of-the-art” equipment to the civilian population they were protecting. And it was a day to honor and acknowledge the people of the Armed Forces of the United States.
Armed Forces Day is the day to honor all who currently serve and all who have served, both active and former, in the reserves, National Guard or on active duty. In his February 27, 1950, proclamation announcing the establishment of the holiday, President Truman wrote:
“I invite the Governors of the States, Territories, and possessions to issue proclamations calling for the celebration of that day in such manner as to honor the Armed Forces of the United States and the millions of veterans who have returned to civilian pursuits.”
