Veterans' Day remembrances

MILFORD, PA — Each year on Veterans Day, members of Milford Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8612, the American Legion Post 139 and the Marine Corp gather at the veterans monument in Milford to remember their comrades, both living and deceased, calling to mind their sacrifices.

Following the ceremony in town, members gathered at the Milford Beach to honor those veterans lost at sea. This year, Colonel Patricia Dooley of the U.S. Army, currently stationed at West Point, tossed the wreath on the waters of the Delaware River while the rifle squad fired a three-gun salute and the bugler played “Taps.”

MONTICELLO, NY — Program emcee, former county veterans services director Al Etkin, estimated that some 200 people and seven color guard units filled the lobby of the Sullivan County Government Center for November 11 Veterans Day ceremonies. Keynote speaker Ted Coleman, a former district commander of the American Legion, told the audience that as he grew older one of his regrets was that he did not say thank you enough. “We need to say thank you today,” he advised.

HONESDALE, PA — The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Memorial Post 807 of Hamline, PA, dedicated three prisoner-of-war flags to the Wayne County Courthouse on November 11.

The post is named after SSG Paul A. Sweeney, who died in Afghanistan when he was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. He left behind his wife, Kristen Sweeney of Lake Ariel, PA and their two young children, Sean and Ryan. He was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart posthumously.

One of the prisoner-of-war flags will be flown at the courthouse every day.

The Veterans Day ceremony also included a reading of the names of the 61 soldiers from Pennsylvania who have died since the war on terrorism began. Members of the VFW Memorial Post 254 from Honesdale also attended the ceremony.