Pittsfield, North Adams Observe Veterans Days
The timing was a bit later than usual and the parade spectators arrived at the memorial just about 11 a.m., exactly a century from the end of World War I. What had for many years been Armistice Day, to denote the ceasefire in Europe became Veterans Day in 1954 to honor all of those who served the nation.
"It recognizes the degree of service and sacrifice in our nation by our armed forces and the 20.4 million veterans in the United States today," said Mayor Thomas Bernard. "And unlike Memorial Day when we honor those who gave their lives in service, Veterans Day asks us to remember all who served and sacrificed."
That includes the names on the honor roll along the dark granite wall at the memorial, including the city's two combat casaulties from more recent wars: Peter W. Foote in Vietnam and Michael DeMarsico in Afghanistan. The mayor also asked the gathering to remember Air Force Staff Sgt. Shane M. Appleton, a 2006 Drury High School graduate who died Oct. 28 while stationed at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Ariz.
And those who came home safe to build lives and families, and continue to serve in their communities, Bernard said, like the late Al Nelson, a Marine of strong faith who help found the food pantry that now bears his name.
"Our veterans living and dead are real people, not just names on wall, not just service records, not people we should thank just reflexively for their service although we do thank them and it's a privilege to do so," the mayor said. "We must do more for every active service member, for every veteran. We have a responsbility to care for our veterans in their battles and in the struggles they face on the homefront. ... serving them as they have served us."
The keynote speaker was Sandra Kee of Gloucester, vice commander of the American Legion's Department of Massachusetts and a Navy veteran.
A Wisconsin county sheriff, a veteran, recently came across a letter he'd received in 2003 when serving in the National Guard in Iraq. One Christmas card addressed merely to "dear soldier" stood out.
"It was special enough to James Johnson that he still had it 15 years later," Kee said. "But it wasn't until he looked at it again that he realized that he had previously overlooked a remarkable coincidence."
The letter had come from a fourth-grader at a local school -- who was now one of his deputies.
"Thanking our veterans may seem like a small gesture to some but it came have deeper meanings, as Sheriff Johnson believes," she said, adding that Johnson had written that "we need to realize what a positive impact we can have on the lives of others."
While these instances seem to make the world small, it's the veterans who also make the world safer, Key said. "We gather at events like this not just to honor generations of veterans but every man and woman who has honorably served since the American Revolution."
Sunday was the centennial of a conflict so bloody it had been dubbed the "war to end all wars," which sadly was not true. But it did, she said, prompt America's commitment to care for the veterans who carried their war trauma home with them.
One way to help veterans is by employing them, Kee said. Reducing veteran unemployment also reduces veteran homelessness, and providing treatment options helps those who may self-medicate to deal with trauma.
"A simple but proven way to thank a veteran is to hire a veteran," she said. "It offers hope and opportunity to those who have not just earned a shot at the American Dream but have defended the freedom of others to do the same."
Both Kee and Bernard thought it appropriate that Veterans Day coincidentally falls just a few days after Election Day.
"What's more fundamental to our freedom than the right and the responsibility to vote?" said Bernard.
"The defense of freedom is not just for those in the military," said Kee. "Each of us shares that duty and responsibility. ... We can protect our freedom simply by maintaining it here in America. If we want to preserve our freedoms we must put them into action, for example by voting in elections or speaking out against injustice. We must also ensure that everyone feels the benefits of freedom."
American Legion Post 125 Commander Dennis St. Pierre was master of ceremones, Bruce Shepley gave the opening and closing prayers and the Drury High band offered a selection of patriotic music including "The Star-Spangled Banner."
Also attending were representatives of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Veterans and Vietnam Veterans of America and auxiliary members, state Sen. Adam Hinds, state Rep. John Barrett III and City Councilor Jason LaForest, The family of Michael DeMarsico were also in attendance after the running of the annual 5K in their son's memory that morning to raise scholarship funds.
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