President Donald Trump has expanded on his plans to alter the days honoring America’s participation in last century’s world wars by declaring them as national holidays.
“All over the World, the Allies are celebrating the Victory we had in World War II. The only Country that doesn’t celebrate is the United States of America, and the Victory was only accomplished because of us,” he said.
“Without the United States, the War would have been won by other Countries, and what a different World it would be.
“Therefore, I am hereby declaring a National Holiday in celebration of the Victories of World War I, where the Armistice was signed on November 11, 1918, and World War II, where the Victory date was May 8, 1945.”
The president added that, “we will not be closing the Country for these two very important Holidays”, as there are already “too many Holidays in America.”
“There are not enough days left in the year. We were Workers then, and we are Workers now! Documentation to follow,” he said.
Currently, Nov. 11 is celebrated as Veterans Day, a federal holiday, while May 8 is not celebrated in the United States.
Trump’s announcement on Monday follows an earlier one last Thursday, when he said he was renaming Veterans Day as “Victory Day for World War I” and proposing that May 8, which coincides with Victory in Europe Day, be recognized as “Victory Day for World War II.”
He said the initiative is part of Americans “celebrating our victories again!”
Victory in Europe Day, or V-E Day, marks the formal surrender of Germany’s military forces to the Allies on May 8, 1945, after nearly six years of conflict. While V-E Day is widely celebrated in Europe, it is not a federal holiday in the United States.
V-E Day falls in the same month as Memorial Day, a federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May, when Americans pause to honor and mourn U.S. military personnel who died while serving.
