Image provided to The Valley Indy by Ansonia’s Patrick Henri.
ANSONIA/DERBY/SEYMOUR — Valley Veterans are gearing up to host Veterans Day ceremonies this week to honor all those soldiers who fought, and are still fighting, in the name of freedom.
In Seymour, VFW Post 12084 will hold its 38th annual Veterans Day Candlelight Virgil on Thursday (Nov. 11). The ceremony will take place at 5:30 p.m. at Broad Street Park, located at the corner of Broad and River streets. The public is invited to attend.
Local attorney and longtime Board of Education member (and newly elected selectman) Fred Stanek will again serve as master of ceremonies for the event, and students from Seymour Middle School will open the ceremony with the Pledge of Allegiance. Several local dignitaries and retired military personnel have been invited to attend. Wreaths for fallen veterans and first responders will be presented. The program will also feature a guest speaker, to be announced. Coffee and refreshments will be served following the ceremony.
In Ansonia, Gordon Viselli, Post 50, American Legion, will host its annual Veterans Day ceremony at 11 a.m. Thursday (Nov.11) at Veterans Park, located next to City Hall, on Main Street. The event will be led by Master of Ceremonies Patrick Henri, Senior Chief Petty Officer for the U.S. Navy.
The program will feature, in part, an invocation, presentation of wreaths, the Ansonia High School Chorus and essay presentations read by students from Ansonia Public Schools. A bell will also be tolled for the last 13 service members who died in Afghanistan.
In Derby, the John H. Collins Post 24, American Legion, will observe Veterans Day with a program at 10:30 a.m. Thursday (Nov. 11) on the Derby Green, located at Elizabeth Street. The ceremony will feature guest speakers, a firing squad and the playing of “Taps.”
Refreshments will be served after at the CWV Post 1562, located at 112 Derby Ave.