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The City of White Plains will hold its annual Veterans Day ceremony on Saturday, November 11, 2023. The ceremony will be held outdoors on the steps of City Hall, 255 Main Street, at 10:30 a.m. The City has hosted this ceremony, in conjunction with the Mayor’s Veterans Committee, for over 22 years to thank and honor all who have served, living or deceased.

The event will feature recollections and insights about Veterans Day, featuring guest speaker, Army First Lieutenant Mitchell W. Stogel. He is a decorated officer who served in Afghanistan executing combat operations alongside the Afghan National Army and Afghan Police in addition to executing combat operations in both Somalia and Kenya. He has provided our country with 13 years of military service and currently serves as the Platoon Leader for the 69th Infantry Regiment Scout Reconnaissance Platoon.

The City of White Plains will once again fly a large American Flag across Main Street in honor of veterans.

The ceremony will also include participation from community patrons: River Town Young Marines, who will lead the Pledge of Allegiance; White Plains District school students; and youth from the White Plains Youth Bureau who will read letters of gratitude. The White Plains Color Guard, comprised of members of the City of White Plains Police and Fire Departments, will perform the presentation of our National Colors, and new this year will be the Firemen’s “Ringing of the Bell” in honor of Armistice Day.

Veterans Day originated as “Armistice Day” on November 11, 1919, the first anniversary of the end of World War I. Congress passed a resolution in 1926 for an annual observance, and November 11 became a national holiday beginning in 1938. Unlike Memorial Day, Veterans Day pays tribute to all American veterans—living or dead—but especially gives thanks to living veterans who served their country honorably during war or peacetime. In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower officially changed the name of the holiday from Armistice Day to Veterans Day. Veterans Day commemorates veterans of all wars.