Armed Forces Day is celebrated in many countries around the world. In the US, for example, it was founded in 1949 to honour veterans from the different forces in World War II. It is celebrated on the third Saturday in May and comes at the end of a whole week which is dedicated to the armed forces.

In the UK, Armed Forces Day is held in late June and was earlier called Veterans' Day. It follows the US model in holding a celebration to honour service men and women, and giving out medals etc, but unlike in the US it is not a public holiday.

Armed Forces Day is quite different from the much older Remembrance Day or Armistice Day. This was started after World War I, and is held at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11 month in memory of the Armistice that ended the war in 1918. This day is chiefly to honour the dead and wounded of that war and other wars since.