Armed Forces Day is celebrated on the third Saturday in May.  President Harry Truman led the effort to establish this holiday in order for citizens to unite and to pay special tribute to our men and women of the Armed Forces for their patriotic service in support of the United States of America.

Although, originally, there were single day celebrations for each branch of the military, this format changed on 21 August 1949, when Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson announced the creation of Armed Forces Day. Stemming from the unification of the Armed Forces under the Department of Defense, the annual celebration now commemorates all branches of the military during one solitary day. In 1961, John F. Kennedy declared Armed Forces Day a national holiday.

The first official Armed Forces Day took place on 20 May 1950 and included parades and celebrations. That first Armed Forces Day also played an essential part in educating society and expanding public knowledge about the military and the role they play in the community. Therefore, it wasn’t only a means to honor those who serve or who have served in the military, but also a way to showcase the Department fo Defense’s equipment and abilities used to protect our country.


”Our Servicemen and women are serving throughout the world as guardians of peace–many of them away from their homes, their friends and their families. They are visible evidence of our determination to meet any threat to the peace with measured strength and high resolve. They are also evidence of a harsh but inescapable truth–that the survival of freedom requires great cost and commitment, and great personal sacrifice.” – President John F. Kennedy, 1963