George Washington's Birthday became a Federal holiday in 1880. In 1888 and 1894, respectively, Decoration Day (now Memorial Day) and Labor Day were created. In 1938, Armistice Day (now Veterans Day) was created to mark the end of World War I.
On June 30, 1973, Archie Turner was the last known person drafted into the US Army. Though he did not choose to join the Army, he chose to stay.
In 1940, the United States instituted a peacetime military draft that helped provide troops for World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars. On Jan. 27, 1973, the day the Vietnam peace pacts were signed, the draft was ended.