It's Veterans Day, Not Veteran's Day or Veterans' Day

Yesterday we posted an Eddie Bauer promotion for a “Veteran’s Day Sale.” Earlier today I received the following respectful communication regarding our publication of this promotion:

I saw your recent ad for a non-existent holiday. In the United States of America there is no Veteran’s Day (Singular possessive). The day is not the possession of one Veteran. Nor is there a Veterans’ Day (plural possessive). The day does not belong to all Veterans and only Veterans. It is properly Veterans Day – no apostrophe. It is a day for all Americans, including Veterans, to appreciate and respect those that have served their country and are currently serving in uniform.

While I appreciate you having a sale to commemorate the day, I would appreciate you correctly titling the day.

Thank you,
Rex A Schildhouse
Lieutenant Commander
United States Navy, Retired

We try to make it easy for customers to contact us and I appreciate customer feedback. I especially appreciate feedback like that above which highlights areas we can improve upon. Within minutes of receiving this feedback we had not only verified that Lieutenant Commander Schildhouse was indeed correct regarding the Veterans Day holiday but we had also corrected this specific typographical error and several similar ones on Shopping-Bargains.com. We also put measures into place that will hopefully prevent a recurrence of that error in the future.

After addressing the errors, I personally responded to Lieutenant Commander Schildhouse and thanked him for contacting us with that information. I also asked if I could share his note on this blog since confusion exists about the correct grammatical format for Veterans Day. He readily agreed.

As most know, Veterans Day is an American holiday honoring all our military veterans. With Veterans Day only four days away (November 11), I am once again reminded of the incredible sacrifices endured by those in uniform who currently serve and who have served our country. We are truly blessed for their actions. They have not only safeguarded our personal liberties but have also protected our very lives and nation. As Americans, we owe them our respect and gratitude, not just on Veterans Day, but each day.

Thanks to Lieutenant Commander Schildhouse, I’m also glad to properly list Veterans Day specials on our website. Since I was ignorant of the correct way to write this holiday before today, I wanted to share this information with others who may have likewise been in error.

On a final note, I’m pleased to report that Eddie Bauer had correctly called their promotion a Veterans Day Sale. And with this in mind, while you take advantage of some great Veterans Day shopping opportunities over the next few days, I encourage you to also think of ways to honor our veterans throughout the year.