Armed Forces Day Honors All Who Serve

Did you know that the third Saturday in May is Armed Forces Day? It’s a day to celebrate and honor all the men and women who serve in the U.S. military.

This year, Armed Forces Day falls on May 21. We at TJM are proud of the veterans on our staff, and offer a heartfelt thanks to all the men and women who help keep us free.

Armed Forces Day has its roots in 1947. That’s the year President Harry Truman signed the National Security Act, which unified the branches of the military under a single Secretary of Defense. Two years later, Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson declared Armed Forces Day as a unified commemoration of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines.

The first actual Armed Forces Day was celebrated on May 20, 1950. President Truman declared it “the first formal procession of preparedness by the united forces of our land, sea and air defense.”

What’s The Difference?

While it’s tempting to consider Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day, and Veterans Day as a basically the same thing, they’re different in important ways.

Memorial Day is dedicated to honoring and remembering those who have died while serving. Veterans Day is, as the name implies, the day to celebrate veterans. Armed Forces Day is the proper day to honor the men and women currently serving.

Custom challenge coins, a military tradition for many years, can be an outstanding way to celebrate Armed Forces Day. With specific coins for any branch, squad, unit, vessel, aircraft or deployment, they can easily be custom made to honor members of all five branches of the Armed Forces.

Morale patches also make a great way to honor military members. Whether to comment on the absurdity of military life, make a joke or denote membership in a specific unit, they’re popular among all branches.

No matter how you choose to celebrate Armed Forces Day, remember to thank our dedicated men and women in uniform.