Northern Illinois Hospice and Grief Center volunteer Howard Ballard (left) hands patient Melvin “Bud” Hines a handmade lap robe to honor his service to our country on Veterans Day Nov. 11 at Fairview Plaza in Rockford. Hines was a staff sergeant in the Army during World War II, and Ballard served during the Korean Conflict. Veterans Day was first observed as Armistice Day on Nov. 11, 1919, marking the one-year anniversary of the cease-fire agreement that ended World War I in 1918. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the switch from Armistice Day to Veterans Day into law May 26, 1954, making the holiday a celebration of all U.S. military veterans. (Photo by Holly Johns, Northern Illinois Hospice and Grief Center)