Veterans Day has always been Al Buckelew's birthday, one day though, Mom had to tell him who the parade was really for.
"I guess I was about seven when she told me they're not celebrating your birthday, they're celebrating Armistice Day," Buckelew said.
Buckelew recalled Veterans Day was once known as Armistice Day, the day that ended the fighting of World War One at the 11th hour of the 11th Day of the 11th month of 1918.
On June 1, 1954, the name was changed to Veterans Day to honor all U.S. veterans.
Buckelew, a Korean and Vietnam War veteran, has seen 77 Veterans Days and birthdays.
The Veterans Day National Committee approved Dawsonville as a 2007 Veterans Day regional site; Atlanta and Dawsonville were the only two regional sites in Georgia to receive that honor.
Buckelew says Veterans Day parades like the one he saw as a child and the one he witnessed Sunday in Dawsonville show support and respect for America's military, past and present, and after all, it happens on his birthday.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2007/11/203941