Veterans Day Riddles: 30 Riddles with Answers for the Classroom on Riddlepedia
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Veterans Day Riddles: 30 Riddles with Answers for the Classroom

30 riddles · tap Hint or Answer to reveal

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Every year on November 11, the United States sets aside a day to thank the men and women who have served in the military. Veterans Day honors all of them, whether they served in peacetime or wartime, for a few years or a whole career. Many of them are people kids already know: a grandparent, a neighbor, a teacher or a coach.

These 30 Veterans Day riddles are written for the classroom. The easy round covers the basics, like flags, parades and the branches of the military. The medium round explains where the holiday came from and how it’s different from Memorial Day, and the tricky round has the facts most grown-ups don’t know, from the guards at Arlington to why there’s no apostrophe in the name. Every fact has been checked.

Easy Veterans Day Riddles

I come every year on November 11. On my day, Americans say thank you to everyone who has served in the military. What holiday am I?

Hint
I’m in the same month as Thanksgiving, but I always come first.
Answer
Veterans Day

I once served in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard or Space Force. Now I’m back in everyday life, but I’m still honored every November. Who am I?

Hint
Your grandparent, your neighbor or your teacher might be one.
Answer
A veteran

I have 13 stripes and 50 stars, and you’ll see me waving all along the route of every Veterans Day parade. What am I?

Hint
I’m red, white and blue.
Answer
The American flag

I’m a bright red flower. In many countries, people wear a paper or cloth version of me in November to remember those who served. What am I?

Hint
My name rhymes with “floppy.”
Answer
A poppy

Members of the military raise their right hand to their forehead to show respect to the flag and to each other. What is this called?

Hint
It starts with S, and you’ll see lots of them at a flag ceremony.
Answer
A salute

Marching bands, waving flags, fire trucks and veterans walking or riding down Main Street while the crowd cheers. What is it?

Hint
It moves slowly down the street, and people line the sidewalks to watch.
Answer
A parade

These two little words are one of the simplest ways to show a veteran you’re grateful. What are they?

Hint
You say them when someone hands you a gift.
Answer
“Thank you”

The people in this branch of the military serve on ships and submarines, all over the world’s oceans. What branch is it?

Hint
Its name is also a dark shade of blue.
Answer
The Navy

I’m the oldest and largest branch of the US military, started in June 1775. My members are called soldiers. What am I?

Hint
My name starts with A.
Answer
The Army

Each branch of the military has its own special set of clothes, from dress blues to camouflage. What do we call the clothes members wear on duty?

Hint
Some schools and sports teams have them too.
Answer
A uniform

Medium Veterans Day Riddles

The fighting in World War I stopped at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. What date was that?

Hint
Count the months of the year to find the 11th one.
Answer
November 11, 1918. That’s why Veterans Day is on November 11.

Before it was called Veterans Day, this holiday was named after the agreement that stopped the fighting in World War I. What was it called?

Hint
The first word starts with “Armi.”
Answer
Armistice Day. It was renamed Veterans Day in 1954 to honor veterans of every war.

The 1954 law that renamed the holiday was signed by a president who had been a five-star Army general in World War II. Who was he?

Hint
His nickname was “Ike.”
Answer
Dwight D. Eisenhower

Two holidays honor the military. One, in May, remembers the people who died while serving. The other, in November, thanks everyone who served. What’s the one in May called?

Hint
Its name comes from a word that means remembering.
Answer
Memorial Day

This branch of the military was founded on November 10, 1775, just one day before Veterans Day on the calendar. Its members serve on land and at sea, and its motto is “Semper Fidelis,” which means “always faithful.” What branch is it?

Hint
Its members are sometimes called “leathernecks.”
Answer
The Marine Corps

I’m the newest branch of the US military, created in 2019. My members are called Guardians, and they look after satellites high above Earth. What am I?

Hint
My name says where my satellites are.
Answer
The Space Force

This branch became its own service in 1947. Before that, its pilots were part of the Army. What branch is it?

Hint
Its members fly jets.
Answer
The Air Force

My members rescue boaters in trouble, patrol harbors and keep shipping lanes safe. My motto is “Semper Paratus,” which means “always ready.” What am I?

Hint
I watch over the edge of the land, where it meets the sea.
Answer
The Coast Guard

In Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia, November 11 has a different name. People wear red poppies and pause at 11 o’clock in the morning. What is the day called there?

Hint
Its name comes from the word “remember.”
Answer
Remembrance Day

I’m a ring of evergreen branches, often with flowers or a ribbon, laid at a monument to honor those who served. What am I?

Hint
People also hang one on the front door in December.
Answer
A wreath

Tricky Veterans Day Riddles

At Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, a guard has watched over me 24 hours a day, in every kind of weather, since 1937. A national Veterans Day ceremony is held here every year. What am I?

Hint
I honor service members whose names are not known.
Answer
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

A guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier marches a set number of steps across the mat, then stops and waits the same number of seconds. The number matches the highest military salute, fired by cannons. What is the number?

Hint
It’s 3 times 7.
Answer
  1. It stands for the 21-gun salute.

In 1915, a Canadian doctor named John McCrae wrote a poem about red poppies growing in fields in Belgium. It’s the reason the poppy became a flower of remembrance. What is the poem called?

Hint
The last word of the title is “Fields.”
Answer
“In Flanders Fields”

Is it “Veteran’s Day,” “Veterans’ Day” or “Veterans Day”? The official name leaves out one small punctuation mark. Which one?

Hint
It’s the little mark that shows something belongs to someone.
Answer
The apostrophe. It’s “Veterans Day,” because the day honors veterans; it doesn’t belong to them.

For a few years in the 1970s, Veterans Day wasn’t on November 11. A law moved it to a Monday in a different month, but so many people wanted the old date back that it returned to November 11 in 1978. Which month was it moved to?

Hint
It’s the month of Halloween.
Answer
October

The word “veteran” comes from a Latin word. What does that Latin word mean?

Hint
It’s the opposite of “new.” (Veterans can be any age, though!)
Answer
Old. It came to mean someone with long experience.

Service members wear two small metal ID tags on a chain around their neck, stamped with their name and other key information. What are the tags nicknamed?

Hint
Pets wear something similar on their collars.
Answer
Dog tags

At many Veterans Day ceremonies, a single bugle plays a slow tune of just 24 notes. It’s also played at night on military bases for lights out. What is it called?

Hint
It rhymes with “naps.”
Answer
“Taps”

Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Space Force. How many branches of the US military are there today?

Hint
Count them on your fingers.
Answer
Six

How many years passed between the end of the fighting in World War I (1918) and the year Armistice Day was renamed Veterans Day (1954)?

Hint
Subtract the smaller year from the bigger one.
Answer
36 years

Veterans Day Riddles in the Classroom

  • Riddle relay: split the class into six teams, one for each branch of the military. Each team reads one riddle aloud to the others, and teams earn a star for each riddle they solve.
  • 11 at 11: at 11 a.m. on the school day closest to November 11, read 11 riddles in a row as a class, then share a moment of quiet to think about the people who served.
  • Thank-you cards: after the riddles, students write a short card to a veteran they know or to a local veterans’ home. They can add their favorite riddle inside to make someone smile.
  • Ask a veteran: if a veteran visits the class, let students read them the easy round. Veterans often know answers kids don’t, and it’s a friendly way to start a conversation.

For more history and holiday riddles, try our Memorial Day riddles, these flag riddles or our military riddles.