(WSB photo from 2014 dinner)

This Friday is Veterans Day, and West Seattle’s American Legion Post 160 has two invitations: All are welcome to join them in placing The Junction’s flags in the morning; then in the evening, veterans, active-duty servicemembers, reserve, guard members, and families are invited to a free dinner:

Veterans Day, the annual time for remembering the end of World War I and the brave Americans who served in the “war to end all wars,” also draws from the news headlines of the day.

“What we now call ‘Veterans Day’ began as ‘Armistice Day.’ It is historically significant that this day continue to be observed on the month, day and hour that the guns fell silent in World War I at 11a.m., Nov. 11, 1918,” Keith Hughes, commander of West Seattle American Legion Post 160, said.

While the day has strong historical roots, current events continue to add meaning to the day.

“Today, thousands of Americans are serving in uniform. They sacrifice in the war on terror and in hundreds of locations around the globe so we may remain free. They, too, are veterans,” Hughes said.

To mark Veterans Day in West Seattle, American Legion Post 160 invites all currently serving; active, reserve and guard members and those who served in the past, along with their families, to join us for our complimentary Annual Italian Dinner. The dinner will be held on November 11, 2016, from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm. The West Seattle Post is located at 3618 SW Alaska St.

Volunteers, coordinated by American Legion Post 160 members, will also line the Alaska Junction with United States flags starting at 9:00 am. If you would like to participate, show up at the northeast corner of Alaska and California five minutes prior. The flags will be taken down at 4:00 pm. All ages are encouraged to participate.

The American Legion is the nation’s largest wartime veterans’ organization. Founded early in 1919, the delegates to the first National Convention in Minneapolis broke from business sessions to parade down a main street in a heavy snowstorm at 11 a.m. Nov. 11 to mark the anniversary of the armistice.