The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
‘Every day should be Veterans Day’
Wreath-laying ceremony at State Vets Cemetery brief but poignant
MIDDLETOWN — The rain held off during the annual observance and wreath- laying ceremony at the State Veterans Cemetery on Bow Lane Wednesday afternoon.
With cloudy skies above, about four- dozen people gathered under a tent or stood in the grass for the occasion of Veterans Day.
In WWII, one in every 10 American served in the armed forces, Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz told those
gathered. In the United States, 325,000 WWII veterans are still alive — 4,395 of them in Connecticut. That number includes her aunt Mary, who turned 99 in June. “Sadly, we are los
ing 294 of them every day,” Bysiewicz said.
“We so appreciate your sacrifice, your service to our country. Every day should be Veterans Day. Every day, we should take the opportunity to say thank you — whenever we someone who is wearing a hat, a pin, please, say thank you,” the lieutenant governor said.
U. S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D- Conn., agreed, saying the holiday is not intended to take advantage of “sales at the mall.”
“Every day should be that day ‘on,’ not a day off — for our veterans,” he said.
He gestured toward the cemetery’s vast vista of white marble headstones, each adorned with an American flag for the occasion. It took 140 volunteers more than an hour to plant just shy of 11,000 flags.
“We come here, every year, to one of the most beautiful places in our state — one of the most poignant and sad — but, still, so beautiful. These rows of graves are a testament to the bravery and heroism and patriotism of the people of Connecticut,” Blumenthal said.
His two sons are veterans: One was deployed as a Marine in Afghanistan and the other was a Navy special operator, serving around the world.
Ken McClellan, commander of the Council of Veterans of Middletown, was master of ceremonies Wednesday. Among those gathered were representatives of American Legion Post 206, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 583, Disabled American Veterans Chapter 7, Catholic War Veterans Post 1166, Jewish War Veterans Post 51, Middletown Elks 771 veterans, and Jewish War Veterans State Commander Morty Pear.
Gov. Ned Lamont shared a story he has told his children about his father’s older brother, who went down in a submarine at the “very, very end” of WWII in the Pacific Ocean. He recalled seeing his grandmother, who expected his uncle to be home “any day, for the next five years, then for the next 25 years. It was as if he had just left the room.”
Lamont recalled annual gatherings with family members and veterans, some of whom would have good days and bad days. “We’d get together around that table, and everybody came to life,” he said.
He lamented there are fewer people in the armed forces these days. “That’s why it’s more important than ever that you tell your kids and grandkids what it meant to stand up for your country, stand up for values, stand up for something bigger yourself. To me, that’s what Veterans Day is all about,” the governor said.
Connecticut Veterans Affairs Commissioner Thomas J. Saadi said Veterans Day is intended to honor the men and women of the armed forces — “from every generation, since the opening months of the American Revolution.”
He took a moment of appreciation for the country’s servicemen and women. “You all know that those wonderful things we enjoy as Americans are only possible because of the service and sacrifice of those of you here, and your brothers and sisters in uniform, for nearly two- anda- half centuries,” Saadi said.
“That promise of American liberty and freedom has endured because of their commitment and yours — from generation to generation — with the expectation that no generation so entrusted will ever break that promise,” he said.
If that were to happen, the commissioner said, future generations would never know what it means to live the American dream.