On Veterans Day, Tampa honors those who served in a city that is home to U.S. Central Command
The day began as Armistice Day, marking the end of fighting in World War I on Nov. 11, 1918. Today it honors American veterans of all wars, and few places have closer military ties than Tampa.
TAMPA - Wednesday, Nov. 11, is Veterans Day, a national day to thank the Americans who have served in uniform. In Tampa, the day comes with a particular connection: the city is home to MacDill Air Force Base and the headquarters of U.S. Central Command.
The date goes back to the end of World War I. Fighting stopped when an armistice between the Allied nations and Germany took effect at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the first Armistice Day in November 1919, and a 1938 act of Congress made Nov. 11 a legal holiday.
After World War II and the Korean War, Congress in 1954 replaced the word “Armistice” with “Veterans,” making Nov. 11 a day to honor American veterans of all wars, the VA says. A 1968 law briefly moved the holiday to a Monday in October, but in 1975 President Gerald Ford signed a law returning it to Nov. 11 starting in 1978. It is now observed on that date whatever day of the week it falls.
Tampa's ties to the military run through MacDill, home of the Air Force's 6th Air Refueling Wing. The base also hosts U.S. Central Command, U.S. Special Operations Command, the 927th Air Refueling Wing and other units from every branch of the armed forces, so soldiers, sailors, Marines and Coast Guard members serve alongside airmen there, according to the base.
U.S. Central Command, known as CENTCOM, oversees U.S. military operations in a region spanning the Middle East, Central Asia and parts of South Asia, 21 nations as of 2026, the command says. It was created on Jan. 1, 1983, from a rapid deployment task force set up in 1980. From its base in Tampa, CENTCOM led operations including Desert Shield and Desert Storm in 1990 and 1991, the war in Afghanistan that began after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and the 2003 war in Iraq, according to its official history.
Hillsborough County has more veterans than any other county in Florida, 94,334, according to VA figures as of September 2026 cited by the county.
The county's 62nd Annual Veterans Day Tribute begins at 10 a.m. today at Veterans Memorial Park & Rear Admiral LeRoy Collins, Jr. Veterans Museum, 3602 N. U.S. 301. It is free and open to all, according to the county's event page. Hear Ye Tampa Bay's Tuesday story lists other local observances, including free veteran admission at several Tampa attractions, and holiday closures of city and county offices.
Source: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: History of Veterans Day; U.S. Central Command: About CENTCOM; MacDill Air Force Base: About Us; Hillsborough County release on the 62nd Annual Veterans Day Tribute; Hillsborough County event page: Annual Veterans Day Tribute (all opened Nov. 11, 2026).