American Legion honors veterans
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The American Legion Post 31 Firing Squad fires one of three volleys honoring fallen comrades during Veterans Day ceremonies in Rutland on Wednesday. A huge flag was hoisted between two firetrucks during the event. Albert J. Marro / Rutland Herald |
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By STEPHANIE M. PETERS STAFF WRITER - Published: November 12, 2009
Against the backdrop of a cloudless blue sky, firefighters slowly unfurled and hoisted a giant American flag between two ladder trucks Wednesday at the end of a Veterans Day ceremony at the American Legion in Rutland.
The crowd who watched from the American Legion parking lot shortly after noon stood in respectful silence for a few minutes as the flag fluttered gently in the breeze – until a member of the fire department asked if any veterans wanted to help fold the flag.
A throng of men — most of them older, all wearing the hats, jackets or medals that symbolize their time in the armed forces — rushed forward to offer their service.
Earlier in the day, those veterans, as well as their families and members of the community, had filled American Legion Post 31 to honor those who have served the country with a ceremony that paid homage to each branch of the armed forces and each conflict of the past century.
"I wanted it to be something to extend my sincere appreciation for all of our veterans, Word War II men and women being my personal heroes," said Greg Fallon, president of the Rutland Veterans Council, commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 648 and the ceremony's guest speaker, about his speech.
However, Fallon also noted as he stood outside after the ceremony and watched the flag being lowered that this year, with members of the Vermont National Guard currently training in Fort Hope, La., to deploy to Afghanistan next year, Veterans Day carried added significance.
"I think it's tough on the community," said Fallon, who served in the Marine Corps for 33 years and is a veteran of the Vietnam War, Gulf War I and the conflicts in Bosnia and Kosovo.
"This is a day we set aside for honoring all veterans, and they're truly deserving of all the thanks and gratitude we can give them … It's upon us to really keep them in our hearts and our minds," he said.
Veterans Day, first known as Armistice Day, was originally intended as an observance of the end of World War I, or the Great War, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day in the eleventh month of 1918. After World War II, the holiday was renamed Veterans Day in the United States.
As Fallon touched on each of the major conflicts that the country has sent its armed forces into during his speech, he asked the veterans of each respective war to stand and be recognized. Veterans of each war since World War II were in attendance Wednesday.
The ceremony also included a brief reflection honoring prisoners of war, vocal performances, including "Battle Hymn of the Republic" and "The Star-Spangled Banner" by the Rutland High School Choir, the Post 31 firing squad, and taps by a Rutland High School band member.
Mayor Christopher Louras offered greetings from a "very, very grateful city" and asked the audience to remember "those who will be serving in Afghanistan in 2010."
And, in what has become a tradition at the Veterans Day ceremony, the Sons of the American Legion presented Dodge House Executive Director Christine Morgan with a check for $13,175. The Rutland house offers both a place to live and transitional services to homeless veterans and over the past 11 years has likely received more than $100,000 in assistance from the Sons of the American Legion.
"It's my hope that one day we don't need the service … that we don't have the tragedy of a veteran being homeless," Morgan said.
stephanie.peters@rutlandherald.com
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