Military veterans continue to make a difference in everyone’s lives. And there really is no way to adequately express gratitude for the freedom for which they fought.
Those were the words of Ansonia Mayor Davis S. Cassetti Wednesday during the city’s annual Veterans Day observance.
“Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don’t have that problem,” Cassetti said, quoting President Ronald Reagan.
Rain forced the event to be moved inside Aldermanic chambers in City Hall.
The room was packed with veterans, police officers, residents, city and education officials, and students from John C. Mead Elementary School, John G. Prendergast Elementary School, and Ansonia Middle School.
Patrick Henri, Chief Petty Officer, U.S. Navy, was master of ceremonies.
Henri also serves as an Alderman in the Sixth Ward.
The program was sponsored by Gordon Viselli Post 50, American Legion, Ansonia.
Post 50 Commander Jack Granatie addressed the standing-room only crowd.
Granatie spoke about the actions of the three Americans who thwarted a terrorist attack last summer on a Paris-bound train. He said their story will be remembered for their heroism.
“The American Legion believes (their actions are) not surprising. From Bunker Hill to Baghdad there has always been a select group willing to fight and die,” he said, for their country.
Granatie said firefighters and police officers are often former military personnel.
“Veterans make our communities better,” he said.
Henri commended school administrators on the essay presentations by six students.
“It’s a great awareness exercise and we really appreciate it,” he said.
Students who were selected to share their essays were John C. Mead School sixth graders Elizabeth Collins and Louis Gripper, whose father is currently deployed with the U.S. Coast Guard; John G. Prendergast School fifth grader Nyla Zayas and third grader Brooke Johnson; and Ansonia Middle School seventh grader Dylan Keefe and eighth grader Emma Brown.
An Ansonia High School choral group led by music teacher Maria Tangredi performed patriotic songs, and American Legion Post 50 member Bill Ritchie played Taps.
The Rev. James Sullivan, pastor, Church of the Assumption, Ansonia, gave the invocation and the benediction.
