Veterans Day Ceremony Returns To Memorial
Veterans Day Ceremony Returns
NEW YORK (DailyInfoPost-NewYork) — New York City held its first Veterans Day parade in two years on Thursday. About 200 marching units, including gangs, cars and vintage cars, marched down Fifth Avenue from 29th Street to 45th Street.
November 11 is a day of honor, celebration, and remembrance for all U.S. veterans and active-duty military personnel. And for Lt. Col. (ret.) Richard “Dick” Merritt, a Vietnam veteran and longtime resident of the valley, marks today moments of warmth and collaborative experiences. Starting this morning at 11:00, the Aspen Pitkin County Veterans Day ceremony begins at Aspen Fire Department Central Station, 420 East Hopkins Ave., a last-minute relocation of Veterans Memorial Park due to weather conditions.
“This is the first year since 2019 that we've been able to hold a full ceremony and we're bringing it back,”
Merritt said Wednesday afternoon. “And we do it because we believe that people want it and that Aspen follows COVID-19 protocols. We felt safe.” As the traditional event organizer for many years, Merritt and former Aspen cop Dan Glidden, who is also a Vietnam veteran, invite the public to this year's memorial service and encourage veterans to use military memorabilia. Merritt said the veterans crown would be placed in the park by a group of scouts before the ceremony. At the fire station, after receiving the flags, the Boy Scouts will lead the pledge of loyalty, and Pastor Darrick Leier of St. Mary's Catholic Church will open with the invocation. This year's guest speaker is Aspen Fire Chief Rick Ballentine, a veteran of the U.S. UU. Local cheerleader Jeannie Walla will lead a group of girl scouts in a patriotic song. The audience will be invited to share words of memory about those who served in the service and lost their lives, and there will be a call that will include all the names of local residents who died while serving in the armed forces from World War I to the war in Afghanistan.
The service ends with Father Leier's reading of the blessing, followed by “touches” and the “retreat of colors”. As an advocate for veterans in the valley, Merritt sees Nov. 11 and the days around it not only as a time to honor veterans, but also as an opportunity for public outreach. On Wednesday morning, Merritt and a few other veterans attended Aspen Community School and talked to children from kindergarten through eighth grade about our country's patriotism and future. “We need to educate our young people to respect the military for what they do,” Merritt said. “This busy period of November each year is about public relations,” he also noted that November 10 was the birthday of the Marine Corps. He and 25 other Marines spent Wednesday afternoon celebrating the Corps 246th birthday at a ceremony at the Brick Pony Pub in Basalt.
0 Comments