Profile America Facts for Features: Veterans Day: Nov. 11 (RESEND)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MONDAY, NOV. 3, 2014
Profile America Facts for Features: Veterans Day: Nov. 11
Veterans Day 2014: Nov. 11
Veterans
Day originated as “Armistice Day” on Nov. 11, 1919, the first anniversary
marking the end of World War I. Congress passed a resolution in 1926 for an
annual observance, and Nov. 11 became a national holiday beginning in 1938.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed legislation in 1954 to change the name to
Veterans Day as a way to honor those who served in all American wars. The day
honors military veterans with parades and speeches across the nation. A
national ceremony takes place at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National
Cemetery in Arlington, Va.
Veterans
19.6 million
Number
of military veterans in the United States in 2013.
Percent
of veterans in 2013 who were black. Additionally, 79.3 percent were
non-Hispanic white; 1.4 percent were Asian; 0.7 percent were American Indian or
Alaska Native; 0.2 percent were Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander; 1.2
percent were some other race. (The numbers for blacks, non-Hispanic whites,
Asians, American Indians and Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific
Islanders, and some other race cover only those reporting a single race.)
Number
of Vietnam-era veterans in 2013. Moreover, there were 5.2 million who served
during the Gulf War Era (representing service from August 1990 to present); 1.3
million who served in World War II; 2.1 million who served in the Korean War;
and 4.7 million who served in peacetime only.
Number
of living veterans in 2013 who served during the Vietnam Era and both periods
of the Gulf War (August 1990 to August 2001 and September 2001 or later).
Other
living veterans in 2013 who served during three wartime periods:
39,890 served during World War
II, the Korean War and the Vietnam Era.
Number
of living veterans in 2013 who served during two wartime periods:
1,006,501 served during Gulf
War (August 1990 to August 2001) and Gulf War (September 2001 or later).
294,251 served during Gulf War
(August 1990 to August 2001) and the Vietnam Era.
175,676 served during the
Korean War and the Vietnam Era.
92,670 served during World War
II and the Korean War.
Percent
of veterans 25 years and older with a bachelor’s degree or higher in 2013. In
comparison, 29.9 percent of nonveterans had a bachelor’s degree or higher.
Percent
of veterans 25 years and older in 2013 whose highest educational attainment was
a high school diploma or equivalency in 2013, compared with 27.7 percent of the
nonveteran population.
Number
of veterans with a service-connected disability rating in 2013. Of this number,
957,504 had a rating of 70 percent or higher. A “service-connected” disability
is one that was a result of a disease or injury incurred or aggravated during
active military service. Severity of one’s disability is scaled from 0 to 100
percent, and eligibility for compensation depends on one’s rating.
Number
of veterans who voted in the 2012 presidential election. Seventy percent of
veterans cast a ballot in that election, compared with 61.8 percent of all U.S.
citizens 18 years and older.
Source: Table 13. Reported Voting and Registration, by Sex, Veteran Status,
and Age: November 2012
Number
of veterans who voted in the 2010 congressional election. Fifty-seven percent
of veterans voted in that election, compared with 45.5 percent of all U.S.
citizens 18 years and older.
Source: Table 13. Reported Voting and Registration, by Sex, Veteran Status,
and Age: November 2010
Following
is a list of observances typically covered by the Census Bureau’s Facts for
Features series:
African-American
History Month (February)
Super Bowl
Valentine's
Day (Feb. 14)
Women's
History Month (March)
Irish-American
Heritage Month (March)/
St. Patrick's Day (March 17)
Earth Day (April
22)
Asian/Pacific
American Heritage Month (May)
Older
Americans Month (May)
Mother's
Day
Hurricane
Season Begins (June 1)
Father's
Day
The Fourth
of July (July 4)
Anniversary
of Americans With Disabilities Act (July 26)
Back to
School (August)
Labor Day
Grandparents
Day
Hispanic
Heritage Month (Sept. 15-Oct. 15)
Unmarried
and Single Americans Week
Halloween
(Oct. 31)
American
Indian/Alaska Native Heritage Month (November)
Veterans
Day (Nov. 11)
Thanksgiving
Day
The Holiday
Season (December)
Editor’s note: The preceding data were collected from a variety of
sources and may be subject to sampling variability and other sources of error.
Facts for Features are customarily released about two months before an
observance in order to accommodate magazine production timelines. Questions or
comments should be directed to the Census Bureau’s Public Information Office:
telephone: 301-763-3030 or e-mail: <PIO@census.gov>.
