GALLERY OF VALOR
Post unveils new way to help remember veterans
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » The front hall room inside the Gurtler Brothers VFW Post 420 on Excelsior Avenue was packed with nearly 100 people Saturday, on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, to commemorate Veterans Day.
“[This] is a tribute to all veterans, you don’t have to necessarily be a veteran of a foreign war to be included in Veterans Day,” said Richard Koenig, who served in the Air Force during Vietnam War and is a member of Post 420. “It’s more than a holiday and that’s what we want to show here today.”
Guests who came to the ceremony at the post were able to hear guest speakers such as VFW Post 420 commander James Hartman and Saratoga Springs Mayor Joanne Yepsen. High school students from Saratoga High School’s “The Saratoga Springs Choraliers” also performed several patriotic songs such as “God Bless America” and the National Anthem. Guests were also treated to a lunch meal after the unveiling of the VFW Post 420 “Gallery of Valor.”
Officials from the VFW Post 420 said after much research, it was determined that nine out of ten families in the country have had a relative who served in one of the nation’s wars. They came up with the idea six years ago to reach out to the community and the Saratoga
Springs school district to try to collect photographs of veterans from the county and local community.
“I was called over [to] Saratoga High School during that first year [of the Gallery of Valor] to meet a student about a relative she found out served in one of our wars, she found out that not only did her greatgrandfather serve in a war, he served in the Civil War and they have a uniform picture of him as a General and it’s still amazing to me today,” recalled Hartman during the ceremony at the post.
Prior to the ceremony and luncheon at the post, about a dozen people attended a brief five minute ceremony at Maplewood Cemetery in Saratoga Springs to remember all of those who served in the military.
“Veterans Day started right after World War I, it was originally called Armistice Day ... and it’s not only a day of great celebration for all veterans, but it’s also a day of remembrance,” Hartman — who also served in the Vietnam War — explained at the cemetery Saturday morning.
“[Today] is a good time for all of us to reflect on where we’ve come and where we’re going and the important role of active military and veterans, not only in our world and country, but right here in our own city,” added Yepsen during the ceremony at the VFW Post.
Other veterans like Larry Ernst, who served in the Army during the Korean conflict, said that it is important for him to continue to come out to these types of ceremonies on Veterans Day.
“I came out of the service in 1954 and I’ve been coming to [the ceremony] ever since and it’s important that they do this every year,” said Ernst.