Red, White & Blue Veteran Appreciation Day

Veterans groups hold annual ceremony

NEW HARTFORD — The annual Red, White & Blue Veteran Appreciation service was held at the Harvest Baptist Church in New Hartford. The annual event is hosted by Northwest Connecticut veterans organizations including the American Legion, Marine Corps League, AmVets and others.

The church, in conjunction with four northwestern Connecticut veteran organizations, honored veterans, particularly those from the Revolutionary War.

Larry Maxwell, a Revolutionary War re-enactor, was the keynote speaker with a program, “Revolutionary War Veterans.”

The color guard included Bill Spring of Watertown, Ryan Spring of Watertown and Karl Crump of Torrington.

During the ceremony, two cannons were fired — one from the Revolutionary War, and the First Litchfield Artillery's Civil War cannon.

Eileen Schmidt / Contributed photos Veterans organizations hosted the annual Red, White & Blue Veteran Appreciation ceremony in New Hartford on Saturday. From left, the color guard members are Bill Spring and Ryan Spring, both of Watertown, and Karl Crump, of Torrington.

Veterans organizations hosted the annual Red, White & Blue Veteran Appreciation ceremony in New Hartford on May 18. Above, volunteers prepare to fire a cannon at the end of the event.