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Military Observances

Find out the different military observances and the differences between each day.

Armed Forces Day. Observed the third Saturday in May, this day is for all who currently serve and all who have served, both active and former, in the reserves, National Guard or on active duty, including the Coast Guard.  It replaced separate days that honored various branches of the military (Army, Air Force and Navy).

Veterans Day. Celebrated annually on November 11, this day of observance is for all living and deceased who have served in the military.

Memorial Day. Celebrated annually on the last Monday in May, this day of observance is for all who died while serving

National Guard Birthday Celebrated December 13, honors all citizen-soldiers who have civilian jobs but are available to provide support and protection for the states’ civilians. They may be called for military operations at a national level.

Within this Collection

Collection Armed Forces Day
Armed Forces Day

Armed Forces Day is celebrated the third Saturday in May to honor Americans serving in the U.S. Army, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Marine Corps, the U.S. Air Force, and the U.S. Coast Guard.

Collection Memorial Day
Memorial Day

Memorial Day honors all Americans who have died in service to their country. It falls on the last Monday in May.

Collection National Submarine Day
National Submarine Day

April 11 was the day the Navy acquired its first modern submarined, named Holland VI. It not only honors the submarine, the historic day or the Navy, but also the rich history that submarines have in this country...

Collection Veterans Day
Veterans Day

Veterans Day is a special day for honoring all who have served in the armed forces. The origins of the holiday date back to U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, who proclaimed Armistice Day on Nov. 11, 1919 to mark the...

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A Path to Victory, Part 3 3

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A Path to Victory, Part 3
Episode 3
Veterans reflect on General Patton, from the way he required his men to dress to the way he so directly addressed his men right up front, saying, "Some who sailed over here are not going back home."...
A Path to Victory, Part 2 2

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A Path to Victory, Part 2
Episode 2
The Hedgerows were unanticipated and required a new type of warfare. They were quite entangled and provided lots of cover, and made the terrain difficult to maneuver. No one could see what they were...
A Path to Victory, Part 4 4

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A Path to Victory, Part 4
Episode 4
A first-hand account of Auschwitz is provided by Lou Fowler. "The Germans were absolutely obsessed with killing people. It was a killing machine."
A Path to Victory, Part 1 1

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A Path to Victory, Part 1
Episode 1
This segment begins with reflections of the Parisians playing "Dixie" on the Champs-Élysées, and a band marching, and a reference to "high cotton." These are some of the memories that have lived on...
Victory by Valor: Shaw Air Force Base, Part 6 - Missile Loaders - Episode 6 Victory by Valor: Shaw Air Force base, Part 7 7

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Victory by Valor: Shaw Air Force base, Part 7
Episode 7
This segment describes the relationship that exists between Shaw Air Force Base and the community of Sumter, S.C. and its residents. Col. James Post, Wing Commander, states that they are close friends...
Impact of Cold War on South Carolina Victory by Valor: Shaw Air Force Base, Part 6 6

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Victory by Valor: Shaw Air Force Base, Part 6
Episode 6
Col. James Post, Wing Commander, states that, "What I'd like to be remember for, I think, is helping facilitate the training, the most realistic training possible, and preparing our airmen to ensure...
Victory by Valor: Shaw Air Force Base 8

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Victory by Valor: Shaw Air Force Base
Episode 8
Mike Gartland continues to relay the history of Shaw Air Force Base. In World War II, the mission was to teach pilots to fly airplanes. The first aircraft that the 20th used there was the P51 Mustang...
Victory by Valor: Shaw Air Force Base, Part 6 - Missile Loaders - Episode 6 Victory by Valor: Shaw Air Force Base, Part 3 3

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Victory by Valor: Shaw Air Force Base, Part 3
Episode 3
The three squadrons of the 20th Fighter Wing must be ready for high-intensity combat at a moment's notice. That requires training of typically about 12 hours a day. The planning usually happens the...
Vanishing Generation, Part 4 - Prisoner of War - Episode 4 Vanishing Generation, Part 10 10

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Vanishing Generation, Part 10
Episode 10
The single most important event in world history in the 20th century occurred more than sixty years ago, and we have lost many of our ties to that past. Preserving the history of World War II has...
Victory by Valor: Shaw Air Force Base, Part 6 - Missile Loaders - Episode 6 Victory by Valor: Shaw Air Force Base, Part 4 4

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Victory by Valor: Shaw Air Force Base, Part 4
Episode 4
Lieutenant Colonel Jacqueline Crum, Civil Engineer, discusses the operational mission being the war on terrorism. With over 7,000 employees, a payroll of $230 million, and 35,000 acres, plus a 12,500...
Vanishing Generation, Part 4 - Prisoner of War - Episode 4 Vanishing Generation, Part 9 9

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Vanishing Generation, Part 9
Episode 9
Veterans of World War II reflect on whether they should be considered heroes or not. One says he happened to be over there, and he volunteered to go to Hawaii, but they didn't know the war would come...
Victory by Valor: Shaw Air Force Base, Part 6 - Missile Loaders - Episode 6 Victory by Valor: Shaw Air Force Base, Part 2 2

Video

Victory by Valor: Shaw Air Force Base, Part 2
Episode 2
The 20th Fighter Wing arrived at Shaw Air Force Base in 1946. No one knows where the motto came from. The emblem was approved in 1934. The records no longer exist, but the colors have significance...
Victory by Valor: Shaw Air Force Base, Part 6 - Missile Loaders - Episode 6 Victory By Valor: Shaw Air Force Base, Part 1 1

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Victory By Valor: Shaw Air Force Base, Part 1
Episode 1
Shaw Air Base in Sumter, S.C. is the home of the 20th Fighter Wing of the United States Air Force, with 88 aircraft and three fighter squadrons. Shaw is also headquarters for the 9th Air Force and U.S...
Vanishing Generation, Part 6 - Red Ball Express - Episode 6 Vanishing Generation, Part 4 4

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Vanishing Generation, Part 4
Episode 4
Tom Grove, prisoner of war survivor, recalls the Battle of the Bulge, and says that is where he got his first combat injury. He was taken prisoner that day, after a German tank pulled up in front of...
Vanishing Generation, Part 4 - Prisoner of War - Episode 4 Vanishing Generation, Part 8 8

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Vanishing Generation, Part 8
Episode 8
Tom Grove, prisoner of war survivor, tells the story of being in his second prison camp, and hearing bombing way off in the distance, and how the noise of artillery got louder and closer, along with...
Vanishing Generation, Part 4 - Prisoner of War - Episode 4 Vanishing Generation, Part 7 7

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Vanishing Generation, Part 7
Episode 7
Tee Senn, cryptologist, speaks of the tank battles, about the reality, not TV, and seeing a tank explode. "...For years...you wake up...it gets to you...it's something that you don't ever want to have...
Vanishing Generation, Part 4 - Prisoner of War - Episode 4 Vanishing Generation, Part 6 6

Video

Vanishing Generation, Part 6
Episode 6
Major C. "Buck" Wiley recalls the Red Ball Express, loading up "all those 250 trucks...with ammunition...take them to the front...gasoline...and then when it started snowing, and when the Battle of...
Vanishing Generation, Part 4 - Prisoner of War - Episode 4 Vanishing Generation, Part 5 5

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Vanishing Generation, Part 5
Episode 5
Russell Meyne, B-17 pilot, says, "But Pearl Harbor, of course, was one about 4-hour period," and he didn't get hit, didn't get shot..."there was no continuity to it...the beginning and end was right...
Vanishing Generation, Part 4 - Prisoner of War - Episode 4 Vanishing Generation, Part 3 3

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Vanishing Generation, Part 3
Episode 3
Don Ziglar, U.S.S. Yorktown Quartermaster, recalls Japanese fighter planes coming toward the Yorktown. The captain was out on the wing of the bridge, at the starboard side. The bridge wasn't big...
Vanishing Generation, Part 4 - Prisoner of War - Episode 4 Vanishing Generation, Part 1 1

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Vanishing Generation, Part 1
Episode 1
World War II is the most important event of the 20th Century. It changed everything. Fifty million people died in World War II, including 405,000 Americans. The United States became a world power, the...
Vanishing Generation, Part 4 - Prisoner of War - Episode 4 Vanishing Generation, Part 2 2

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Vanishing Generation, Part 2
Episode 2
World War II occurred during the 1940s when segregation was still the norm in America. The African Americans who fought were in a segregated army even overseas in England. One of the reasons the...
Always First: The SC Air National Guard, Part 1 - Early Years - Episode 1 Always First: The SC Air National Guard, Part 6 6

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Always First: The SC Air National Guard, Part 6
Episode 6
In 2006, the Swamp Foxes were preparing for an Operational Readiness Inspection, the most important peacetime evaluation of the unit's combat readiness. The purpose of the exercise is to get people...
Always First: The SC Air National Guard, Part 1 - Early Years - Episode 1 Always First: The SC Air National Guard, Part 5 5

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Always First: The SC Air National Guard, Part 5
Episode 5
The strength of the South Carolina Air National Guard has always been its people. And what has given these people their best opportunity to excel is great aircraft. It started with the P-51 Mustang...