Saluting veterans
Greenwich ceremony honors military service, sacrifices made
GREENWICH — There is one fact that organizers wanted to drive home at Wednesday’s ceremony to commemorate Veterans Day in Greenwich — the sacrifices of veterans.
“Almost one-and-a-half-million men and women have lost their lives defending this country, and our children must know about it,” said Peter LeBeau, commander of American Legion Post 29, which put together the event held at the war memorial on Greenwich Avenue.
“Our concern is how much our children are learning about our country’s history and about the sacrifices that veterans have made on behalf of them to allow them to live the lives they do today,” LeBeau said in emphasizing the need for education.
LeBeau also gave a special shoutout to the U.S. Marine Corps, which celebrated its 245th
birthday on Tuesday.
A small crowd of citizens, veterans and town and state officials — wearing masks and practicing socially distancing — gathered under gray skies for the ceremony Wednesday, which marked the 102nd anniversary of the end of World War I on the 11th hour of the 11th day in the 11th month of 1918.
Nov. 11 was initially known as Armistice Day. In 1938, it was named a national holiday and it later became Veterans Day.
“No matter what we call it or how we celebrate it, two things remain the same: How we say thanks and how we remember,” First Selectman Fred Camillo said at the ceremony. “We say thanks not only today but every day because each and every day is a gift from our veterans.
“We remember the fact that every one of the men and women who wore the uniform did it by leaving the lives they were leading at the time and going off to a foreign land and fighting for our freedom,” Camillo said. “That selflessness, that sacrifice and that service to others should be something we all remember in our daily lives in each and every task every day both big and small.”
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the parade down Greenwich Avenue was canceled. But the Greenwich Police Department’s honor guard, which includes several veterans, still held its rifle salute.
Wreaths were placed at the World War II, Korean and Vietnam War memorial and at the town’s World War I monument by Restoration Hardware.
The Rev. Ted Pardoe, rector at St. Barnabas Church, offered the invocation, and the Rev. Thomas Nins, senior pastor at First Baptist Church, gave the benediction.
“We ask that you would bless (our veterans) and meet all their needs,” Pardoe said. “We pray you would give them peace when they suffer from past trauma. We acknowledge the debt of gratitude we owe them for the freedom of our country.”
Wednesday’s ceremony was only one of several held in town. This past Saturday, the Cos Cob VFW Post 10112 gathered for an annual ceremony by its memorial in the pocket park across from the Greenwich Historical Society. On Monday, Riverside School hosted its annual ceremony honoring veterans as well.
Later on Wednesday night, the Byram Veterans Association was scheduled to hold a service in Eugene Morlot Park.
LeBeau urged everyone to say “welcome home” and “thank you” the next time that they saw a veteran.
“We say ‘Happy Veterans Day,’ but I don’t know if that’s the right word to use,” LeBeau said. “This is one of the most somber holidays on our calendar, but I don’t know what else to say.”