“We set aside one day a year to honor our veterans,” said retired Lt. Col. Joseph Napoli, master of ceremonies for Marion’s November 11 Veterans Day observance. And while we honor those who fought in combat and engaged in active duty during times of war, as Napoli pointed out, it’s not just a day to honor war heroes, but a day to honor all those who have served and are serving in the military, regardless of their roles. “Anyone who donned the uniform … and served 90 days is considered a veteran.”
This Veterans Day, however, felt different than those of the previous years.
“Today happens to be the 100thanniversary of World War I, declared to be ‘the war that ended all wars’,” said Napoli. “It was a noble idea, but it never came to fruition. In my life we have been at war almost constantly.”
Inside the Sippican School, hundreds gathered to mark this significant anniversary, led in prayer by Rev. MaryAnn Purtill of the First Congregational Church to acknowledge the selfless acts of veterans and their families. The Sippican School Band offered its renditions of patriotic classics, while the local Scouts joined everyone in a brief history lesson given by keynote speaker retired Col. Jonathan Henry, a former selectman and the current interim superintendent of the Department of Public Works.
Henry fought in Korea and then was sent to Fort Knox to test prototype equipment. He later volunteered to serve in Vietnam where he came face to face with the horrors of war his first night there.
“When I got there … that night we got a rocket attack,” said Henry. “They got a few lucky hits on the base I was on … and some people were killed.”
The sacrifice of a veteran cannot be understated, alluded Henry, and that sacrifice oftentimes continues even after the war is over. Take post-traumatic stress disorder, said Henry.
“How essential it is to identify them early on and give them the treatment they need,” said Henry. “It’s your duty – and mine – as citizens to see that this happens, that it’s done right … and they receive the resources [they need].”
All three selectmen were present, with Board of Selectmen Chairman Norm Hills addressing the assembled, dressed in his Navy uniform, and read a proclamation of Veterans Day from the governor.
Napoli was certain to thank Donna Hemphill for having organized the event.
“I love doing events like this,” Hemphill told The Wanderer. “It just makes me very happy to do it.”
In closing, Reverend Purtill reminded us, “Let us be reminded of the good of this day, and the good in our lives.”
By Jean Perry
