Armed Forces Day is celebrated on the 5 October, the day of the foundation of the Tentara Keamanan Rakyat ("People's Security Armed Forces"), the predecessor of the TNI, in 1945, itself a replacement for the "Badan Keamanan Rakyat" ("People's Security Corps") established on 29 August on the same year. Military parades are held nationwide in major cities and provincial capitals in honor of the TNI's serving men and women and military veterans. Rouz-e Artesh (English: "Army Day") is celebrated on 18 April, the establishment day of the army. Iraqi Armed Forces Day is celebrated on 6 January, and marks the anniversary of the
Stephenson Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Secretary of War Jacob M. Dickinson, Senator George P. Wetmore, Representative Samuel W. McCall, General Louis Wagner, and Thomas S. Hopkins. The soil at the chosen site, present-day Indiana Plaza, could not support the memorial's weight, so the concrete foundation had to be expanded. The Stephenson memorial was formally dedicated at 2:30pm on July 3, 1909. Hundreds of elderly veterans attended the event, many wearing their military uniforms. Prominent attendees included President William Howard Taft and Senator William Warner. Following the invocation, GAR commander-in-chief Colonel Henry M. Nevius gave an impassioned speech about the sacrifices made by Union forces during