RECOGNIZING VETERANS
Hundreds attend 20th annual Veterans Day ceremony at Saratoga National Cemetery
STILLWATER, N.Y. >> Hundreds of event-goers gathered at the Gerald B.H. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery on Sunday for a Veterans Day ceremony recognizing veterans both past and present.
Despite cold temperatures on Sunday morning, the annual ceremony attracted a large group of attendees, who heard from a slate of speakers that shared their sentiments of honor toward all U.S. military veterans.
“For over 243 years of independence, these patriots stood [to] watch over America,” said W. Scot Lamb, director of the Saratoga National Cemetery, which is located near the Saratoga Battlefield, an important site in the Revolutionary War. “From Bunker Hill to Baghdad, their vigilance and determination to uphold the beliefs on which our nation was founded have made us the beneficiaries of their blessings.”
He continued, “America has been blessed as no other country in the world. The sacrifices of our armed forces have provided an environment of security and freedom in which our nation has grown and flourished.”
Lamb recognized Veterans Day 2018 as the centennial anniversary of the end of World War I, also known as “the war to end all wars.” He said, “Every Veterans Day is special, but this year’s commemoration is particularly meaningful.”
Sunday’s local event was specifically meaningful to those involved with the Gerald B.H. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery, too, as this was its 20th annual Veterans Day ceremony held at the cemetery.
The keynote speaker for this year’s event was retired U.S. Marine Corps member Dave Wallingford, who spoke at the first ceremony back in 1999 as well.
“The occasion is a bittersweet one,” Wallingford said, “because it brings us together as a family to celebrate the 100th anniversary of ‘the war to end all wars,’ however it is also sobering to realize that we are here to pay tribute to those heroic men and women whose earthly remains surround us at this site, some of whom have paid the ultimate price to preserve the American way of life and the freedoms which go with it.”
Wallingford reminded those in attendance, “No nation or people in the history of civilization has shed more blood in defense of freedom than the American servicemen and women.”
State Senator Kathleen
Marchione said, “The best way to remember them is to honor those still with us and the survivors of those who have passed.”
Offering a different perspective on Veterans Day and its meaning, the audience also heard from some local children, students at Stillwater Central School.
Across the board, the message was that veterans deserve honor not just on Veterans Day, but every day throughout the entire year. “Every day they put their lives on the line for us,” Lamb said. “It is our duty to remember the sacrifices of all veterans.”