<P> In 1945, World War II veteran Raymond Weeks from Birmingham, Alabama, had the idea to expand Armistice Day to celebrate all veterans, not just those who died in World War I. Weeks led a delegation to Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, who supported the idea of National Veterans Day . Weeks led the first national celebration in 1947 in Alabama and annually until his death in 1985 . President Reagan honored Weeks at the White House with the Presidential Citizenship Medal in 1982 as the driving force for the national holiday . Elizabeth Dole, who prepared the briefing for President Reagan, determined Weeks as the "Father of Veterans Day ." </P> <P> U.S. Representative Ed Rees from Emporia, Kansas, presented a bill establishing the holiday through Congress . President Dwight D. Eisenhower, also from Kansas, signed the bill into law on May 26, 1954 . It had been eight and a half years since Weeks held his first Armistice Day celebration for all veterans . </P> <P> Congress amended the bill on June 1, 1954, replacing "Armistice" with "Veterans," and it has been known as Veterans Day since . </P> <P> The National Veterans Award was also created in 1954 . Congressman Rees of Kansas received the first National Veterans Award in Birmingham, Alabama, for his support offering legislation to make Veterans Day a federal holiday . </P>

When did veterans day start being called veterans day