The Big Flag flutters in the wind at Fairhaven High School during the Fairhaven Veterans Day ceremony following a parade on Sunday, 11/11/18. Photo by Beth David.
By Beth David, Editor
Fairhaven held its annual Veterans Day parade on Sunday, 11/11/18, with special notice of the day being the 100 year anniversary of the end of World War I. The war ended on 11/11/1918, and the armistice was signed a 11 a.m.: the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. It was dubbed the war to end all wars, but, as speakers noted, it did not.
Layla holds a sign she made for a school project, while her little sister Bella waves the US Marine Corps flag, the branch of service their father serves in, along the route of the Fairhaven Veterans Day Parade on 11/11/18. Photo by Beth David.
Veterans day started out as Armistice Day, and is the only federal holiday that is always held on the date of the commemoration, and not pushed to a Monday for observance. In 1954 the name was changed to Veterans Day to honor all veterans.
The annual parade in Fairhaven began at Benoit Square in North Fairhaven and marched along Main Street to Fairhaven High School for a short ceremony that included the raising of the “Big Flag,” the 30×50-foot flag commissioned by the FHS alumni association.
The ceremony included remarks by Vietnam Veteran and parade organizer George Brownell, emcee Donald LeBlanc, Fairhaven Selectboard Chairperson Daniel Freitas, and keynote speaker Larry Jones, US Navy, Senior Chief.
The ceremony also included an invocation by Elaine Carrol, musical pieces by Sylvester Santos, Jr.. the FHS marching band, and bagpiper William Bullard; and the firing of muskets by the Fairhaven Village Militia. A moment of silence was in honor of all those fallen and those missing in action.
Rod Lopez accepts a flag from a Boy Scout along the route of the Fairhaven Veterans day Parade on Main Street on 11/11/18. Photo by Beth David.
Along the route, Layla and held up a handmade sign that she had made for a class project. The sign was a replica of the US Flag, with the five branches of the US military written in the stripes: Marines, Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, in that order. Her dad, of course, is in the Marines, so it got top billing.
Little sister Bella stood close by waving a Marine flag.
The others side of the sign was a big “thank you for your service” to veterans marching by.
Mr. Brownell noted to the crowd that the day marked the 100th anniversary of the end of WWI. Millions died in WWI and millions more since then, he said. He told the crowd not to forget the many service members missing in action.
“Freedom is not free,” said Mr. Brownell, adding that there have been a lot of lost lives, and that is what the day is about.
Keynote speaker Larry Jones, US Navy, Senior Chief, folds the small flag with the help of volunteers to make way for the big flag to be raised during the ceremony at Fairhaven High School following the Veterans Day Parade on 11/11/18. Photo by Beth David.
Mr. LeBlanc said it takes courage, honor, determination and integrity to serve in the military. He said they came from all walks of life but shared courage, pride, determination and dedication.
Selectboard chairperson Daniel Freitas told the crowd the day was to remember veterans from all wars.
“We appreciate everything you guys do,” he said. “You deserve today.”
In his remarks to the crowd of about 300 Sr. Chief Jones said that 100 years ago, people were happy when the war ended at “the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month,” and the soldiers could go home.
He said the average person could honor veterans by simply preserving the American way of life, by “living the freedoms they protected.”
He ended his talk with a salute to all veterans.
After the ceremony, the public was invited to the VFW on Middle Street for a complimentary buffet.
Volunteers hoist the Big Flag onto the pole in front of Fairhaven High School during the Veterans Day Ceremony, following the parade, on 11/11/18. Photo by Beth David.
A replica of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier passes by a house flying an American flag during the Fairhaven Veterans Day Parade on 11/11/18. Photo by Beth David.
A field of flags covers the lawn of Fairhaven High School to remember every Fairhaven service member killed while serving from the CIvil War to the present during the Veterans Day ceremony on 11/11/18. Photo by Beth David.
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