Veterans Day Quiz
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This Veterans Day trivia quiz has 98 free questions with answers and covers the holiday from the 1918 armistice to today: why it falls on November 11, how Armistice Day became Veterans Day, what separates it from Memorial Day and Armed Forces Day, the story of the poppy and "In Flanders Fields", the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and its guards, and how other countries mark Remembrance Day. The questions start easy, so it works as Veterans Day trivia for seniors at a community centre or care home, for a classroom or a family table, and then climbs to genuinely hard veterans trivia about the armistice negotiations and Arlington's traditions for the history buffs in the room. Every answer comes with a short explanation. Every question has been checked against a primary source, and each shows its citation once you have answered.
30 of 98 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01What was Veterans Day originally called when it was first established?
Armistice Day
Veterans Day was originally called Armistice Day, established to commemorate the end of World War I on November 11, 1918.
Q 02Which U.S. president signed the legislation that changed Armistice Day to Veterans Day?
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Eisenhower signed the 1954 bill that swapped 'Armistice' for 'Veterans', widening the day to honour all American veterans rather than only those of the First World War.
Q 03How does Veterans Day differ from Memorial Day?
The first honours everyone who served; the second honours those who died in service
Memorial Day is the older of the two, having grown out of Civil War commemorations.
Q 04At what time of day did the World War I armistice take effect on November 11, 1918?
11:00 a.m.
11:00 a.m. made it the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month; the armistice itself had been agreed at 5:00 a.m. that morning.
Q 05Where was the World War I armistice signed on November 11, 1918?
Compiègne, France
Hostilities on the Western Front ceased at 11 a.m. that morning, but a formal peace treaty was still more than seven months away.
Q 06In what year did November 11 officially become a U.S. federal holiday?
1938
An act of Congress passed on May 13, 1938 made November 11 a legal federal holiday; the day's renaming to Veterans Day came later.
Q 07Where is the country's main Veterans Day ceremony held each year on November 11?
Arlington National Cemetery
The national ceremony begins at precisely 11 a.m. and continues inside the Memorial Amphitheater with a parade of colors by veterans' organizations.
Q 08How many steps does a Tomb Guard walk before turning at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier?
21
Tomb Guards walk 21 steps, then turn and face the Tomb for 21 seconds, about face, and repeat. The number 21 symbolizes the 21-gun salute, the highest military honor.
Q 09Since what year has the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier been guarded 24 hours a day, 7 days a week?
1937
A military guard was first posted at the Tomb in March 1926, but only during daylight hours; the round-the-clock watch began at midnight on July 2, 1937.
Q 10Which U.S. Army unit is responsible for guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier?
3rd Infantry Regiment
The 3rd Infantry Regiment, known as 'The Old Guard', has provided the Tomb sentinels since April 1948 and also performs military funerals at Arlington.
Q 11What flower is traditionally associated with honoring veterans and fallen soldiers?
Poppy
Georgia professor Moina Michael championed the emblem after reading the poem, and veterans' associations later trademarked it for fundraising.
Q 12Who wrote the famous poem "In Flanders Fields" that inspired the remembrance poppy?
John McCrae
Canadian physician Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae wrote "In Flanders Fields" on May 3, 1915, after presiding over the funeral of a friend killed at the Second Battle of Ypres.
Q 13Which November 11 observance, also called Poppy Day, is the Commonwealth's counterpart to Veterans Day in Canada, the UK and beyond?
Remembrance Day
Q 21What did Raymond Weeks of Birmingham, Alabama propose in 1945 regarding Armistice Day?
Honoring all veterans, not just those of WWI
Weeks proposed honoring all veterans, not just those of World War I; he led the first such celebration in Birmingham in 1947 and repeated it every year until his death in 1985.
Q 22Roughly how many living military veterans did the United States have in 2023?
About 16 million
The Census Bureau's 2023 survey counted about 16 million living U.S. veterans, about 1.7 million of them women, roughly one in nine.
Q 23Why do Tomb Guards at Arlington not wear rank insignia on their uniforms?
Remembrance Day services typically include the Last Post, a silence, and then Reveille or the Rouse; the US chose the name Veterans Day instead.
Q 14In the 1970s Veterans Day was briefly moved to late October under which federal law?
Uniform Monday Holiday Act
The Uniform Monday Holiday Act of 1968 put Veterans Day on the fourth Monday of October; many states ignored the change and kept November 11, and Congress later restored the original date.
Q 15In what year was Veterans Day first observed on November 11 again after its October period?
1978
Veterans Day moved to the fourth Monday of October in 1971; a law passed in 1975 restored November 11, taking effect in 1978.
Q 16Which president first proclaimed November 11, 1919, as Armistice Day?
Woodrow Wilson
President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation on November 11, 1919, declaring the first anniversary of the end of World War I as Armistice Day.
Q 17Which military branch celebrates its birthday on November 10, just one day before Veterans Day?
U.S. Marine Corps
The Continental Marines were established on November 10, 1775, and the date is marked every year with a ball and a cake-cutting ceremony.
Q 18Which ceremony opens the national Veterans Day observance at Arlington National Cemetery each November 11?
A wreath-laying at the Tomb of the Unknowns
A wreath-laying at the Tomb of the Unknowns starts it, and the observance then moves inside the Memorial Amphitheater for a parade of colors and remarks from dignitaries.
Q 19The first Unknown Soldier interred at Arlington's Tomb died in which conflict?
World War I
The 1921 Unknown was a World War I soldier, chosen by Sergeant Edward Younger from four identical caskets at Châlons-sur-Marne, France, on October 24, 1921.
Q 20Which Allied commander accepted the German request for an armistice in November 1918?
Ferdinand Foch
Foch had been Supreme Allied Commander only since March 1918, and he appeared just twice during the three days of talks: to ask what the Germans wanted, and to see to the signatures.
So as not to outrank the Unknowns
Tomb Guards do not wear rank insignia so as not to outrank the Unknown Soldiers, whose ranks are unknown. This shows respect regardless of what rank they may have held.
Q 24In which U.S. city is the National WWI Museum and Memorial located?
Kansas City, Missouri
The National WWI Museum and Memorial stands in Kansas City, Missouri, beneath the Liberty Memorial tower, which was dedicated in 1926 and designated the national museum by Congress in 2004.
Q 25In which magazine was "In Flanders Fields" first published in 1915?
Punch
"In Flanders Fields" was first published on December 8, 1915, in the British magazine Punch after being rejected by The Spectator.
Q 26Which country observes November 11 as National Independence Day rather than a veterans' commemoration?
Poland
November 11, 1918 was the day Poland regained sovereignty after 123 years of partition by Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia.
Q 27What ceremony takes place daily at the Menin Gate in Ypres, Belgium, to honor fallen soldiers?
The Last Post
Buglers from the Last Post Association close the road under the memorial at 8 p.m. every evening, a ceremony first founded in 1928.
Q 28In 2023, roughly what share of the U.S. adult civilian population were veterans?
About 6%
Veterans made up about 6% of the U.S. adult civilian population in 2023; fewer than 1% of them had served in World War II, and about 1.7 million were women.
Q 29Which president presided over the interment of the first Unknown Soldier at Arlington in 1921?
Warren G. Harding
President Warren G. Harding presided over the interment on November 11, 1921; at the same ceremony Admiral of the Fleet Lord Beatty presented Britain's Victoria Cross on behalf of King George V.
Q 30On which shoulder does a Tomb sentinel carry the rifle while walking the mat?
The shoulder away from the Tomb
The sentinel always carries the rifle on the shoulder away from the Tomb, placing the guard between the Tomb and any threat; the weapon changes shoulders at each turn.