It started as Armistice day in 1919 on the one-year anniversary of the World War I's end, and didn't become an officially recognized holiday until 1938 (a few weeks after the Cubs lost the World Series to the Yankees), and it didn't become known as "Veteran's Day" until 1954 after the end of the Korean War.
But the thought remains the same. On November 11th, we drop whatever we're doing and we honor those that fought for this country.