The second anniversary in 1920 saw a huge outpouring of organized activities. New York City’s celebrations were typical. They included speeches from dignitaries; memorial masses and services; parades; the unveiling of a Great War memorial in Cypress Hills National Cemetery erected by the France-America Society honoring French sailors (the first of several Great War monuments erected throughout the city); the planting of memorial trees; high school pageants; and medal presentations, including one at the Brooklyn Navy Yard where a number of sailors received the Navy Cross. A variety of dances were staged, the largest being a charity ball held at the 23rd Regiment Armory in Brooklyn that included a concert, reception, and dance attended by 6,000 luminaries. Representative of the speeches was that of F.W. Galbraith, Jr., national commander of the American Legion, who was the charity ball’s guest of honor. Organized in May 1919, the American Legion had been instrumental in Armistice Day’s creation and continued observance. In his speech, Galbraith called on Americans to “renew each year our vows of fealty, repledge and keep unshakeable our faith in the high ideals, the lofty purposes, the unselfish aspirations, and exalted holy hopes that fired the hearts of Americans in 1918 and made ours a land whence crusaders came, with souls aflame, worthy of their victory.”

President Woodrow Wilson and Ellen Wilson participate in Armistice Day festivities in 1919. Library of Congress photo

In Washington, Wilson got out of his sickbed and watched the observances in Lafayette Park, including the moment of silence and an artillery salute, from his bedroom window. On the morning of March 4, 1921, his last official day in office, Wilson added another ceremony to commemorate Armistice Day by signing legislation establishing a Tomb of the Unknown at Arlington National Cemetery. Stone for the tomb was Yule Marble obtained from a quarry near Marble, Colorado. Famous for its exceptional, pure quality, it was the same marble used on the exterior of the Lincoln Memorial.

The remains of an unknown American serviceman buried in France were exhumed and shipped to Washington, where his flag-draped black coffin rested in state in the Capitol Rotunda until Nov. 10, 1921. An estimated 90,000 people paid their respects, forcing officials to keep the Capitol open until midnight.

By 1921, nationwide observance had elevated Armistice Day to the point of it being an unofficial national holiday. In addition to speeches, parades, monument dedications, and other events, Wall Street announced it would be closed. But the most important event held on Armistice Day’s third anniversary was the dedication of the Tomb of the Unknown.

But on Nov. 11, 1941, with Europe and Asia at war and America’s involvement more a matter of “when” rather than “if,” President Franklin D. Roosevelt used that year’s Armistice Day tribute at the Tomb of the Unknown to challenge a nation that had become complacent in its isolationism.

Referred to by The New York Times as “a unique program,” the commemoration at Arlington National Cemetery called for a nationwide observance of two minutes of silent prayer to begin at noon Eastern Standard Time “for the dead of the war and for future peace, a prayer in which millions in all continents will join.” This was followed by a speech by President Warren G. Harding dedicating the Tomb of the Unknown, singing by a quartet from the Metropolitan Opera Company, a bugler playing “Taps”, and the playing of a band. It was the first such event to be broadcast live nationwide over the radio.