ANSONIA – The cold didn’t stop Ansonia from showing up to honor its military history.
As temperatures hovered just above freezing Tuesday morning (Nov. 11), dozens of people filled Veterans Memorial Park next to city hall to mark the occasion. Master of Ceremonies Patrick Henry, who served as a Chief Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy, noted that this year marks the 250th anniversary of the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps.
“Things are a little cold, so we’re gonna keep things moving, but somewhere in this world there are people out there in uniform where it gets colder,” Henri said.
Speakers this year included seven students from Ansonia Public Schools, who wrote essays reflecting on various historical veterans who broke barriers in their lives. Eighth grader Akram Lemfarreg dedicated his essay to Cathay Williams, who was born into slavery and disguised herself as a man to become the first African American woman to enlist in the U.S. Army.
“She carved out a place in the world that sought to exclude her,” Akram said.
Ansonia High School senior Christina Lovallo, who said she is joining the Army after she graduates, wrote her essay on Audie Murphy, the World War II war hero who later turned to a long career in acting.
Murphy, fighting in France in early 1945, nearly singlehandedly held off an attack by German soldiers for an hour while organizing a counterattack, which allowed his company to hold their position. He later received a Medal of Honor, the military’s highest decoration, for his bravery.
“After the war, Audie Murphy returned home. Like many veterans, he never forgot what it meant to serve, and he always spoke up about the needs of veterans,” Christina said. “Audie Murphy’s bravery goes beyond his collection of earned medals.”
Students also honored historical figures in their essays including Harriet Tubman, the Underground Railroad leader who used her expertise to aid the Union Army and free enslaved people during the Civil War, Bob Ross, the Air Force sergeant who taught countless people to paint through television after his service, and Opha May Johnson, who became the first woman to enlist in the U.S. Marines in 1918.
In between speeches, the Ansonia High School choir sang songs honoring the military’s history, including the Marines’ Hymn and the Star-Spangled Banner.
Mayor David Cassetti, speaking at his final Veterans Day ceremony before he leaves office, said the service of young people shows the world a defense of democratic ideals.
“We are a nation of patriots. History shows that our young people are willing to accept the sacrifices of service to our ideas, and that if they must, they’re willing to lay down their very lives for those ideas,” Cassetti said.
The invocation and benediction were led by Deacon Robert Carter from St. Michael’s Church in Derby. The ceremony also closed, as it does each year, with a rifle salute to the war dead and the playing of “Taps” from members of Gordon Viselli Post 50 American Legion.
Flags during the ceremony flew at half-mast to mark the recent passing of Dick Cheney, who was vice president during George Bush’s administration from 2001 to 2009.
