Remember When Texarkana Celebrated Armistice Day?
I always enjoy looking up Texarkana history. Does anyone remember the Armistice Day parade?
For those of you old enough to remember you will probably know what I am talking about for those younger, probably not. On November 11, a huge Armistice Day parade happened every year in downtown Texarkana.
People lined the streets to see lots of military-themed vehicles, cargo trucks, jeeps, and tanks, all from Red River Army Depot.
Soldiers and veterans fully decked out in uniform were seen marching or riding down the streets of Texarkana holding lots of American flags with plenty of fanfare from local high school bands and civic organizations that came to show support for our military in this memorial that celebrated the end of World War 1 and the services of armed forces around the world. Armistice Day was renamed Veterans Day in 1954 and continues to be celebrated as a federal holiday on November 11.
Here's a video of an Armistice Day parade in Texarkana in 1951. There is no sound and the video is somewhat grainy and blurry.
History of Armistice Day
According to Wikipedia, Armistice Day, on November 11, 1919, was a celebration marking the end of World War I and commemorating the millions of victims. The annual tradition was begun in England, through Canada, France, Belgium, Australia, and New Zealand. As a matter of fact, Armistice Day is a national holiday in France and was declared a national holiday in many Allied nations too. However, many western countries eventually opted to change the celebration to other names, and here in the United States, Armistice Day was renamed Veterans Day in 1954 and now is observed as a federal holiday on November 11.