It’s that time of the year when we pay tribute to all veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces who have served our country through the centuries. Since Nov. 11, 1954, Veterans Day has been observed as a national holiday in America. Originally dubbed Armistice Day, it marks the anniversary of the end of World War I, which formally came to a close at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918.

Thirty years ago, a Veterans Day Mass was first celebrated at the Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii in Chicago’s Little Italy on Taylor Street. Thanks to Fred Randazzo and the Italian-American War Veterans, it has become a much-anticipated annual event. “Because I didn’t see action in the military, I’ve always wanted to do something for the veterans,” Fred says. “I get very angry when I find that people are not patriotic, and the Mass is a way of showing patriotism as well as pride in our ethnicity.”