York Town News
Honoring those who have answered the call to service
By Larry Favinger
Boardman Ellis Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6977 honored York's veterans and troops with a special ceremony on Veterans Day, Saturday, Nov. 11. Pictured is Robert Seeley, left, the speaker for the day, and VFW Chaplain Victor DiSilvestro getting ready for the program with the flags to be burned later in the foreground. Members of local scouting organizations took part in the flag ceremony. Burning is the only way to properly dispose of American flags.
Photos by Larry Favinger
YORK - In a ceremony rightly scheduled at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, members and guests of the Boardman Ellis Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6977 paid tribute to America's veterans on Saturday.
Those attending the ceremony at the post home in Cape Neddick included newly-elected District 150 Rep. Windol Weaver, R-York, York County Commissioner Gloria Layman, D-York, representatives of the York Police Department and members of local scouting organizations.
Speaker Robert Seeley, a member of the post and a 27-year veteran of the Navy, told the group of more than 50 that without soldiers there would be no United States.
Without those who served, he said, there would have been "no nation to found, no union to save."
He lauded those men and women who have in the past and continue to "step forward every time" they are needed to protect the nation, freely "placing our country above self."
He said America would be a "far different place if not for them."
He noted the growth of the country's population over the years at the time of armed conflicts and the number of men and women who have served in those wars. At present, he said, the population of the country is over 300 million, and the number of men and women in the military now stands at 2.2 million "protectors of our nation."
They make us, he said, the "most powerful military in the world."
For those who have worn the uniform, and their families, the celebration of Veterans Day is not just a three-day weekend, he said, but an opportunity to honor those who have served, those who are serving and those who will serve in the future.
"To honor them is to honor our great country," he said.
With the aid of the area scouts, the annual Veterans Day ceremony concluded with the burning of old American flags in the time-honored and only correct way to dispose of the nation's colors.
Armistice Day was established in 1919 when, at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11, the armistice was signed ending World War I, also known as the war to end all wars.
It remained so until 1954, when the name was changed to Veterans Day by order of President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
