From Left to RightMax C. FlotoAttorney Carmine V. Molinaro Jr.Donald A. Cope
Photo was taken by Edward Cope at the VFW Post 21 in Connellsville, Pa.
Max C. Floto
Attorney Carmine V. Molinaro Jr.
Donald A. Cope
Photo was taken by Edward Cope at the VFW Post 21 in Connellsville, Pa.
History of Armistice Day
Max C. FlotoVeterans Day, or Armistice Day as it was long known, is a holiday
that originated in Southwestern Pennsylvania through the efforts of a
Connellsville veteran of World War I.
He was Max C. Floto,
and it wasn't easy. A student at Gettysburg College when he entered the
Army in 1918, Floto returned to his hometown in Fayette County
at war's end. He became part of the American Legion post founded there after the hostilities. At
the second meeting of the Milton Bishop Post 301 of the Legion in early
1919, Floto made a motion to promote Nov. 11 -- the date of the war's
armistice -- as a national observance. That step, strongly supported by
his fellow veterans, was the first in an effort that took nearly 20
years.
From there, Floto and fellow veteran Thomas W. Scott
served as delegates to the state Legion convention in Harrisburg. There,
Oct. 2, he gained the support of the state group.
He then
went to Harrisburg and was successful in persuading Gov. Sproull to
issue a proclamation for the observance that year in the state.
Ultimately, the state Legislature passed an act that made the holiday
official in Pennsylvania.
The two Connellsville men were
delegates to the first national convention of the American Legion,
coinciding with the Armistice. There, their holiday resolution was the
second passed by the new organization's national body.
But
the effort was just beginning. It took the federal government 19 years,
until May 13, 1938, to make it a national holiday. Until that was
achieved, Floto and supporters had worked with congressmen and others.
Virtually every year, a resolution was presented in Congress to no
avail, until President Franklin D. Roosevelt finally signed the bill in
1938.
Photo top left: From Left to Right: Max C. Floto; Attorney Carmine V. Molinaro Jr., while he was a county commissioner, and Donald A. Cope, president of the Connellsville Veterans Commission and Commander of Walter E. Brown Post 21.
Photo Submitted by Edward Cope.
Photo top: From Left to Right: Louis P. Santore, guest speaker for Memorial Day ceremony in Connellsville; Frank Beni, member of Connellsville Veterans Commission; Max C. Floto, WWI Veteran of Connellsville who was one of the original founders of Veteran's Day, and Donald A. Cope, Commander of the Walter E. Brown Post 21, Veterans of Foreign Wars in Connellsville and master of ceremonies. Sanatore was a district VFW commander. Photo Submitted by Edward Cope.
Photo top left: From Left to Right: Max C. Floto; Attorney Carmine V. Molinaro Jr., while he was a county commissioner, and Donald A. Cope, president of the Connellsville Veterans Commission and Commander of Walter E. Brown Post 21.
Photo Submitted by Edward Cope.
Photo top: From Left to Right: Louis P. Santore, guest speaker for Memorial Day ceremony in Connellsville; Frank Beni, member of Connellsville Veterans Commission; Max C. Floto, WWI Veteran of Connellsville who was one of the original founders of Veteran's Day, and Donald A. Cope, Commander of the Walter E. Brown Post 21, Veterans of Foreign Wars in Connellsville and master of ceremonies. Sanatore was a district VFW commander. Photo Submitted by Edward Cope.
Above, Max Floto (sitting at right) presents a gavel to Don Cope, the newly elected president of the Connellsville Veterans Commission in 1972. Other veterans observing the transition are, from left to right, Harry Jones, Ralph Burkett, Jack Kopf, and Clarence Smith. Floto was a World War I veteran who, along with Thomas Scott Sr., lobbied for the establishment of Armistice Day (now Veterans Day) as a national holiday. (Courtesy of Ed Cope).
