FARMINGTON — Veterans, youth organizations and community members paid their respect and thanked veterans for their service and sacrifices Monday morning, Nov. 11, during ceremonies in Farmington.

From left Roderick-Crosby American Legion Post 28 members Rick Bowen, Stephan Bunker and Joe Paradis along with Boy Scout Troop 546 member Jonathan Crocker, Cub Scout Pack 585 member Jameson Porter and Trail Life USA Troop 1820 member Ben Santana make up the color guard Monday morning, Nov. 11, during a Veterans Day observance at Teague World War I Memorial Arch in Farmington. In back, Priscilla Kimble sings the National Anthem. Pam Harnden/Livermore Falls Advertiser

A color guard began the recognition as it made its way to the Teague World War I Memorial Arch. The guard included Roderick-Crosby American Legion Post 28 members Rick Bowen, Stephan Bunker and Joe Paradis along with Boy Scout Troop 546 member Jonathan Crocker, Cub Scout Pack 585 member Jameson Porter and Trail Life USA Troop 1820 member Ben Santana.

Legion Chaplain Langdon Adams gave a prayer and Priscilla Kimble sang the National Anthem.

Cub Scout Mason Duchesne and Trail Life USA Joseph Robinson placed a wreath in front of the arch, assisted by Legion Commander Matthew Smith.

Cub Scout Mason Duchesne at left and Trail Life USA Joseph Robinson place a wreath in front of the Teague World War I Memorial Arch while Legion Commander Matthew Smith looks on Monday morning, Nov. 11, in Farmington. Pam Harnden/Livermore Falls Advertiser

Veteran and Farmington Police Chief Kenneth Charles said he was thankful for another beautiful day beside the arch which was bequeathed just over 100 years ago. “Here we are, standing together over the Sandy River and below the mountains of western Maine,” he stated. “Home, a special place yearned for by those who have answered the call of our country, taking up arms in defense of our nation, other nations and people unable to defend themselves.”

Charles shared how Veterans Day, originally Armistice Day was proclaimed 70 years ago by President Dwight Eisenhower to honor all American veterans in prior wars and those since then. “Military service as recognized today is not reserved for armed conflicts,” he said. “The real strength of our nation needs also be measured by those intervening times when the bullets and artillery shells are not sent and received. The times of peace required a special kind of person. The person “in it for the long game”, trained and ready to act in the way of revolutionary “Minutemen”. These peacetime warriors swore an oath, trained in their specialties, deployed worldwide, left family, friend and homes for something larger than themselves.”

“They are and were the silent wall that act as the buffer between our safety, security and freedom and those who wish to destroy us,” he noted.

The average age of enlistment is between 18 and 19 years old, Charles noted. “Motivated by duty to country, opportunity or the lack thereof, draft or conscription, something not seen since 1973 and yet over 11 million of our fellow Americans have served in the U.S. military since that time – an all volunteer force,” he stated.

Boy Scout Lucas Duchesne in front and Trail Life USA Gavin Dugay Monday morning, Nov. 11, place a wreath at the Vietnam War Memorial in Meeting House Park in Farmington while Legionnaire Peter Tracy looks on. Pam Harnden/Livermore Falls Advertiser

Veterans from the different military units were then asked to raise their hands and be recognized. “I would like to take the liberty to recognize a very special group,” Charles then said. “If you are the parent, child or spouse of a service member, please raise your hand because your sacrifice is just as important to us all.”

After the colors retired, the group made its way to Meting House Park for a similar ceremony with wreaths placed at several of the monuments there.

“Nov. 11, 1918, was a day of celebration throughout the free world,” Bunker said. “A conflict without precedence was ending. World War I was so horrific that many referred to it as the “war to end all wars.” Unfortunately, the optimism was short-lived.”

In the aftermath of World War II and the Korean War, American Legion held an “all Veterans Day” celebration in Emporia, Kansas, which sparked the movement for Nov. 11 to be a day to honor every America who honorably served in the nation’s military since the Revolutionary War, Bunker noted. The vision for the new holiday – released to mark the first official Veterans Day observance 70 years ago – was for the day to “ever remain a day of remembrance. Remembrance for those who have placed their love of God and country, their devotion to liberty and freedom, above even life itself. But also it should be a day of rejoicing. Rejoicing that American manhood and womanhood always have measured up to our responsibilities,” he quoted.

Community members and veterans are seen Monday morning, Nov. 11, during a Veterans Day observance at Meeting House Park in Farmington. Pam Harnden/Livermore Falls Advertiser

“While those responsibilities may have shifted and evolved with each subsequent generation, the love for this country is a common thread that bonds veterans from the earliest days of our nation’s founding to those serving today,” Bunker added.