Major Gen. Lee Ellis, assistant deputy commanding general for National Guard Affairs at U.S. Army Materiel Command, makes remarks during the 73rd annual Connecticut Armed Forces Day Luncheon in Southington, Connecticut May 20, 2022. Armed Forces Day is a national observance in the United States, celebrated annually on the third Saturday of May each year. The holiday was created on Aug. 31, 1949, by then-Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson at the behest of President Harry S. Truman to replace the separate armed forces branch observance days.