A veteran arrives at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., Nov. 11, 2011, for a Veterans Day ceremony.  (Evan Vucci/AP Photo)

The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, of 1918, was when fighting officially stopped in World War I, or the s0-called The Great War,  a war to end all wars. End wars, it did not, but out of the armistice made that day between Germany and the allied forces came a day of reflection to honor those who had served. 

One year later, President Woodrow Wilson recognized Nov. 11 as Armistice Day, stating, “To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations …”

Soldiers from Ft. Lee, Va., help mark Veterans Day ceremonies at the World War II Memorial, Nov. 11, 2011, in Washington, D.C. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Armistice Day became a national holiday in the 1930s. After WW II, it became known as Veterans Day in the United States, as a day of reflection on the past and on sacrifices still being made. Click here to view more images of soldiers being honored and returning home from service.