(See additional photograph gallery below.)
Haverhill took time Wednesday to honor its veterans on the 108th anniversary of the end of the first World War.
Haverhill High School U.S. Marine Corps Junior ROTC Cadet 1st Lt. Milly Diaz, executive officer, told a crowd in Washington Square Veterans Day is more than saying thank you.
“It’s about remembering the people behind the uniforms. The people who have left their homes, their families, the life they knew deserve something bigger than themselves. It’s easy to go about everyday life without thinking twice about the freedoms we have. We go to school, we spend time with our friends, we make plans for the future and sometimes we forget that these everyday things are freedoms worth protecting,” she said.
Diaz advised everyone to take time to listen to veterans—“hear what they’ve been through, what they’ve learned and what their service meant to them.”
Chris Manning, commander of the Wilbur M. Comeau Post 4 American Legion, presented Diaz with a scholastic award, medal and $500 scholarship.
Manning also served as master of ceremonies and delivered the invocation. He noted the original holiday was called Armistice Day and was broadened to remember all veterans in 1954 by an act signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Haverhill Veterans Services Director Jeffrey C. Hollett offered thanks and gave the city’s welcome, while Ariana Manzano performed the National Anthem and Ricky Hamlett read the Pledge of Allegiance.
The program at the World War II Memorial in Washington Square followed the annual Veterans Day Parade, which stepped off at Haverhill’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial at Mill Brook Park and concluded at the square. Participants included 95-year-old Korean War veteran Russell V.J. Chaput, 89-year-old former Marine Richard Broadnax, Haverhill High School U.S. Marine Corps Junior ROTC, Haverhill Police and Fire, VFW Lorraine Post 29 Commander John Berrini, Knights of Columbus, Cub Scouts Haverhill Pack 63, Rep. Andy X. Vargas, Mayor Melinda E. Barrett, City Council President Timothy J. Jordan and Councilors Thomas J. Sullivan, Ralph T. Basiliere, Shaun P. Toohey and Michael S. McGonagle, School Committee member Josiah E. Morrow, U.S. Army Vietnam-era veteran Louis T. Fossarelli, among others.
The American Legion provided lunch at its headquarters.
Haverhill High School U.S. Marine Corps Junior ROTC Cadet 1st Lt. Milly Diaz reacts with surprise when Chris Manning, commander of the Wilbur M. Comeau Post 4 American Legion, presented Diaz with a scholastic award, medal and $500 scholarship. (WHAV News photograph.)
Haverhill High School U.S. Marine Corps Junior ROTC Cadet 1st Lt. Milly Diaz, executive officer, delivers keynote address. (WHAV News photograph.)
Wilbur M. Comeau Post 4 American Legion celebrated the 107th birthday of the national organization. (WHAV News photograph.)