Armed Forces Day

Armed Forces Day (Egypt)

October 6

Armed Forces Day in Egypt is an important national holiday marking the surprise attack on Israel that began the October War of 1973 (also known as the Yom Kippur War). Egypt's ally in the war was Syria. The war ended with a cease-fire secured by the United States, and was declared a victory by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. It strengthened his position and enabled him to seek an honorable peace with Israel. In 1974 and 1975, agreements were signed that paved the way for the return of the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt in April 1982; Israel had occupied the peninsula since the Six-Day War of 1967, in which Egypt had been crushed. In 1977 Sadat made his dramatic trip to Jerusalem to address the Israeli Knesset (Parliament); a year later, Sadat, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and United States President Jimmy Carter held talks at Camp David, Md., that led to the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty of 1979.
The holiday is celebrated with grand parades, speeches by government officials, and fireworks. It was while reviewing a military parade on this day in 1981 that Anwar Sadat was assassinated by opponents of peace with Israel.

CONTACTS:
State Information Service, Egypt Ministry of Information
3 Al Estad Al Bahary St.
Nasr City, Cairo Egypt
20-2261-7304; fax: 20-2261-7308
www.sis.gov.eg

Celebration day: Oct 6

Celebrated in: Egypt

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Armed Forces Day (United States)

Third Saturday in May

Before President Harry S. Truman proclaimed the third Saturday in May as Armed Forces Day in 1949, the three major branches of the United States armed forces—the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force—held elaborate celebrations on three different days during the year. Although the service units continue to celebrate their own days on April 6 (Army), October 27 (Navy), the second Saturday in September (Air Force), and November 10 (Marine Corps), the purpose of Armed Forces Day is to promote the unification of the branches under the Department of Defense (which took place in 1947) and to pay tribute to those serving in all the armed forces.
While commemorations of the individual service units are usually confined to military bases, the celebration of Armed Forces Day entails much broader participation. In addition to the huge parade held on this day each year in New York City, the armed forces often hold "open house" to acquaint the public with their facilities and to demonstrate some of the latest technological advances.

CONTACTS:
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense, U.S. Department of Defense
1400 Defense Pentagon
Washington, D.C. 20301
703-428-0711
www.defenselink.mil

SOURCES:
AmerBkDays-2000, p. 368
AnnivHol-2000, p. 91
DaysCustFaith-1957, p. 137
DictDays-1988, p. 5
PatHols-2006, p. 47

Celebration days: May 21, 2011; May 19, 2012; May 18, 2013; May 17, 2014; May 16, 2015