Saturday morning, Nov. 11. was sunny but blustery when Woolwich veterans and guests gathered on a windswept hill in front of the Sailor and Soldiers Memorial at Laurel Grove Cemetery to commemorate Veterans Day.

“If like me, you served your country in the military you know it doesn’t matter what your rank was, or whether or not you saw combat during your service – a veteran, is a veteran is a veteran,” said Hank Fuller who shared his thoughts on the holiday’s meaning.

A Purple Heart medal recipient, Fuller served during the Vietnam War as a Marine Corps tank and rifle platoon leader. Growing up in a small town in Connecticut, Fuller said as a boy his heroes were Yankee baseball great Mickey Mantle and the World War II military veterans he came to know and respect in his community. “I’d always expected to serve in the armed forces himself. The key things for me when I did was learning about duty and service.” At the ceremony’s conclusion Fuller assisted Robert Meade, a U.S. Army and Marine Corps veteran of the Korean War, in placing an evergreen wreath at the base of the granite war memorial.

This year’s invocation was provided by the Reverend Thomas Tuck. Pastor Tuck ministers at the First Baptist Church of Woolwich that is located a short distance from Laurel Grove Cemetery on Middle Road.

“We’ve gathered together today at this place to honor and remember all those who served in defense of the freedoms we enjoy,” he began concluding with a short prayer. This was followed with a solemn playing of “Taps” by Peter Gallant. Light refreshments were provided afterwards by the community’s Special Events Committee.

Woolwich native Roger Brawn again presided over the ceremony, the third one sponsored by Laurel Grove Cemetery Association. Brawn served 38 years in the U.S. Army before retiring as a sergeant major.

Laurel Grove Cemetery was chosen as the site of the monument because there are 71 veterans buried here from wars stretching as far back as the War of 1812. The Sailor and Soldiers Memorial, an 8-foot tall granite pillar, was erected Oct. 12, 1941, not quite two months before the attack on Pearl Harbor. In 2011 the monument was rededicated to recognize the Korean and Vietnam Wars along with the Gulf War, and Global War on Terror. Two granite benches were placed in front of the monument and a flagpole with a bronze eagle on top, that swivels and points the wind direction.

Woolwich has continued the tradition of commemorating Veterans Day at the “eleventh hour on the eleventh day of the eleventh month,” that began with the Armistice Agreement ending the fighting of the First World War. In 1954, by an act of Congress, Armistice Day was changed to Veterans Day honoring all those having served, and are presently serving in America’s armed forces.

Brawn said Laurel Grove Cemetery Association will again honor veterans interred here by placing wreaths on each of their graves on Dec. 16 as part of the Wreaths Across America project. Dec. 16 also marks the start of the  historic WWII Battle of the Bulge in 1944. To learn more to the Wreaths Across America website.