REMARKS OF MAYOR TIM O’BRIEN,
VETERANS DAY CEREMONIES,
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2011
Good morning and welcome to New Britain’s annual Veterans Day ceremonies to honor our city’s and our nation’s men and women who have bravely served in the armed forces in defense of freedom and liberty.
As the Mayor of New Britain, it an honor to speak at this ceremony in Central Park. It is a privilege today to stand before you for the first time as Mayor on Veterans Day to state, on behalf of all the residents of New Britain, our deepest gratitude to all those who have served our nation with distinction and honor.
Here in New Britain, we have always cherished our veterans and have honored them on this special day. We do so by visiting the various veterans monuments throughout our city, including this very special ceremony in the heart of city - Central Park - at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.
In New Britain, we commemorate Veterans Day and Memorial Day on the traditional days - not on the Monday of a three day weekend. We remember that the reason for these days is to remember and thank those who defended our nation.
We must always remember those who served so valiantly in all our nation’s wars and during peacetime, as well. And we must also remember that New Britain has been blessed by the hard work and commitment of servicemen and women who came home and gave the same service and dedication to building a stronger community.
Other communities have eliminated or drastically reduced their Veterans Day and Memorial Day observances, citing budget cuts. I was truly proud, that one of my first actions after taking office was to restore the cuts made to the Memorial Day parade.
New Britain’s commitment to carrying on these traditions of respect and tribute is what sets us apart from other communities, and I am proud that we rightly come together each year to honor those whose sacrifices have made our democratic way of life possible.
More important than these once a year ceremonies is the recognition we should give veterans in our day to day lives. For without their sacrifices, we would not have the freedoms we enjoy today. That is why one of the charges of the new city Community Services Department I created as part of the consolidation of city departments is to increase our city’s service to veterans. We should give our veterans, not only our thanks on Veterans Day and Memorial Day, but also the services they need and that we owe to them because of what they have done for us.
I also encourage city residents to support efforts like that of
Marjorie Hackett Wallace, who organizes care packages every year for active duty military personnel deployed in Afghanistan. Last year, she organized and shipped 538 care packages containing more than 8,000 lbs of snacks and personal care items to support our overseas service men and women. Helping this effort shows Americans serving overseas that we are thinking about them and deeply appreciate their service.
God bless all the veterans that we honor here today.
God bless those who gave their lives for our nation.
God bless all the courageous men and women now serving in our armed forces.
God bless all those individuals who work to show our veterans and active duty service men and women that we remember and honor them for their service.
God bless our great city, and may God bless America.
Thank you.
