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Friday, November 11, 2011
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11.11.11
- Veterans Day: honoring all who served defending liberty and freedom.
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11.11.11 - Veterans Day: honoring all
who served defending liberty and freedom. EverythingWestport.com Friday, November 11, 2011 Click here to view the
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video clip Part 1 - sights and sounds of Veterans Day 11.11.11 at Beech Grove
Cemetery. > > Click here for
video clip Part 2.
"As
we lose more and more veterans with their passing each day, it's more
important to honor them and their fallen comrades while they are still with
us," observed Lino Rego,
past Commander of Post 145. And
they came to offer prayers and speeches on this sacred day, this Armistices
Day that memorializes the end of a war to end all wars, to the men and women
who sacrificed, along with their families, so much for so many. "Thank
you very much for coming today," Jerry LeBoeuf, new Veterans Officer
said. "It's an honor to have you here to honor our veterans, those who
have sacrificed so much. We should remember those who are in our veterans
hospitals, the homeless, the hungry, the sick, and the veterans from all the
wars. Today is that special day we come together in spirit to honor our
veterans, a well deserved respect." The
Honorable State Senator Michael J. Rodrigues led the Pledge of Allegiance, and Laurin
Camara sang our National Anthem. The keynote speaker was the Town of
Westport’s Honorable Selectmen James W. Coyne. Coyne served in the military
as a United States Air Force aero-medic and retired from the Massachusetts
Army National Guard as a legal investigator. He is also a member of American
Legion James Morris Post 145, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8502 W.A.&R. Ouellette Post and Vietnam Veterans of America
Chapter #207. _________________________________________________________ "The highest
standard anybody could want is to be a citizen of the United States of
America." James W. Coyne,
veteran, Westport selectman and keynote speaker _________________________________________________________ "When
we were youngsters we would play cops and robbers, cowboys and Indians.
Nobody wanted to be a veteran; no one knew what a veteran was going to
be," Coyne told the gathering. "When
we got out of the service people would ask "what did you do in the war? Here's
what I did, I did three things; I went where they told me to go, I did what
they told me to do, I came home when they told me to go home. That's what the
veterans did. It's time now to let our families know exactly what we did and
where the history was," Coyne said. "We're
very fortunate that Massachusetts is a leader in providing services to
veterans. We have a wonderful new Commissioner of Veterans Affairs in Coleman
Nee, and her in Westport we're lucky to have a new Veterans Officer who will
build upon the work that Ronnie Costa did for so many years," said the
honorable Paul Schmid, Westport's State Representative "One
third of the homeless in Massachusetts are veterans. 18,000 veterans; so there is still work to
be done," Schmid added. _________________________________________________________ "It has been
often said that without our veterans, Americans would be speaking Russian,
German or perhaps Japanese. Without our veterans, America would not be
America." Lino Rego _________________________________________________________
Left: Westport's new
Veteran's Officer, Jerry LeBoeuf, opened the memorial
observance. Right: the singing of our National Anthem by Laurin Camara.
Left: The gray, chilly
morning opened up to blue skies and sunshine, and stiff breezes whipped up
the American Flag. Right: wreath laying at the foot of
the Flag; Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter #207 Member Emile Fuller
escorted Veterans from WWII, Korea, Vietnam and the Persian Gulf War.
Left: The keynote speaker
was the Town of Westport’s Honorable Selectmen James W. Coyne. Right:
Westport firefighter Andy Ferrarini (front) stands
firm as the Westport Firefighter's Honor Guard participated in the
commemoration at Beech Grove Cemetery. _________________________________________________________ "Certainly, we
remember those that did not come home, but today we're thinking and paying
respect to those amongst us. And, they are the men and women you see mowing
the lawn in front of their house, taking care of their neighbors, taking care
of their parents, picking up their grandchildren . . . participating in the community that they live
in. They are our relatives, our neighbors our friends, and our
colleagues." State
Representative Paul Schmid _________________________________________________________ "Remember
or veterans and their service to our country," Lino
Rego, past post commander of James Morris Post 145,
told the gathering. Steven Ambrose once wrote: "America's wars have been
like rungs on a ladder which have rose to greatness. No other country has
triumphed for so long, so consistently, on such a fast scale through force of
arms."" "It
has been often said that without our veterans, Americans would be speaking
Russian, German or perhaps Japanese. Without our veterans, America would not
be America," Rego said. _________________________________________________________ "We have to
extend our hands to them (veterans); we should have no veteran who's
homeless." Richard Spirlet,
Chairman, Board of Selectmen _________________________________________________________ The
Event Host Organization was the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter #207,
President Dave Corderre presiding as Master of
Ceremonies. "When
Vietnam veterans came
home, we didn't have much of a welcome home," Corderre said.
"But now the tide has turned. People are thanking us. And we wish
to thank everyone else for finally recognizing us as warriors; for finally
recognizing us as who we are." _________________________________________________________ "No one says
that you have to like a war. You don't have to like a war to honor the
warrior." Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter #207, President
Dave Corderre _________________________________________________________ Participating
veterans organization included the Veterans of
Foreign Wars, Post 8502; American Legion Post 145; Disabled
American Veterans Chapter 118; and Vietnam Veterans of America
Chapter 207. In November 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November
11th as the first commemoration of Armistice Day with the following words:
“To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with
solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and
with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has
freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her
sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…” As
our government now attempts to untangle itself from two unpopular foreign
wars, it's easy to forget the men and women, the heroes who have or who are
now serving overseas. There
will be parades today, and government offices and banks will be closed. Take
a moment to thank a veteran, share a moment of condolences for those families
whose son or daughter, mother or father, brother or sister didn't return home
so that we may be protected from the tyranny of those who would destroy all
that our veterans have worked so hard to protect. Extend
a hand, not a handout, to a homeless veteran. And
never forget.
Above: the
Women's Auxiliary of American Legion Post 145. From the left: Jane Silva,
Janet Rego, Kimberley Fernandes,
Annette Audet, Helen Beaulieu, and Mary Ann Santos.
"The Women's Auxiliary has grown to 14 members," Helen Beaulieu
said, "despite losing two members this year."
Left: Invocation was
given by American Legion James Morris Post #145 Chaplin, Emile Fuller. Right:
Westport's State Representative, Paul Schmid, speaks to the gathering.
Left: Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter
207 firing squad performs a 15-gun salute.
Right: Vietnam veteran
Arthur Caesar bugles taps to conclude the morning's ceremony.
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