UW alum who fought in World War I helped create Veterans Day as national holiday for all vets
Even though Nov. 11 is commemorated as the date of the armistice ending World War I, it's also a day to honor all veterans, thanks to a University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate.
Harvey Higley found work as a private chemical engineer after earning a chemical engineering degree at UW in 1915.
But when America entered the war, he volunteered, serving as a first lieutenant in France in the Army's chemical warfare division.
After the war, he worked at Ansul Chemical in Marinette and rose through the ranks to serve as president and chairman of the board of the fire extinguisher manufacturer from 1938 to '48. He found time to volunteer as the American Legion state commander during World War II.
Active in politics, the Ohio native served as chairman of the Republican Party of Wisconsin for six years until President Dwight Eisenhower appointed him in 1954 as administrator of veterans affairs.
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Higley desegregated VA hospitals to ensure African-American veterans could be treated at any medical facility, and championed the G.I. Bill, which provided educational benefits to returning veterans.
He also worked with a Kansas congressman to create a national holiday — for all veterans.
"He was on a mission," said Tod Pritchard, director of media and public relations for the Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association. "I think his experience during World War I really changed his life. He had such a connection with veterans."
By the early 1950s, American calendars already had a day to honor veterans, but it was originally just for those who served in the war that ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, World War I.
A year after World War I ended, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed Nov. 11 as Armistice Day. In 1938, Congress made the day a legal holiday to honor World War I veterans.
But following World War II and the Korean War, veterans service organizations requested a change to honor all veterans. Higley worked closely with U.S. Rep. Ed Rees (R-Kansas) to pass a bill changing the name from Armistice Day to Veterans Day.
Congress agreed in 1954 and, since then, Nov. 11 has been the day when America honors veterans of all wars.
Eisenhower issued a Veterans Day proclamation in October 1954, designating the VA administrator as the chairman of the Veterans Day National Committee. That was Higley.
"He felt that the traditional Armistice Day, Nov. 11, was too focused on the ending of a single war, so he really spearheaded the movement to make it more of a celebration honoring all veterans," Pritchard said. "Until then, there really wasn't a day to do that."
Higley served as veterans administrator until retiring in November 1957 and returning to Wisconsin. He died in 1986, shortly before what would have been his 94th birthday. He is buried in Marinette where a road and park are named after him.