Veterans Day marked with solemn ceremony at National Cemetery of the Alleghenies
Veterans Day was commemorated Wednesday with songs and solemnity at National Cemetery of the Alleghenies in Cecil Township, where more than 26,000 veterans have been laid to rest.
As with other Veterans Day ceremonies in the region and around the country, a rifle salute was given by an honor guard, the “Taps” bugle call sounded and those attending were urged to respect veterans and honor the sacrifices they have made.
“Freedom in our country and anywhere in the world would not exist if not for the American military and the 43 million Americans who have put their lives on the line,” said Jack Wagner, the keynote speaker. Along with being a veteran of the Marines who served in the Vietnam War, Wagner is also the former auditor general for Pennsylvania, a former state senator and a onetime member of Pittsburgh City Council.
Wagner added, “There’s not a country that has the freedom that we do, and we will defend it.”
Nov. 11 has been Veterans Day in the United States since 1919, when it was called Armistice Day. It initially marked the first anniversary of the end of World War I, but was expanded in 1954 to honor all veterans. In 1938, it became a federal holiday. Most ceremonies start around 11 a.m., on Veterans Day, to mark the 1918 ceasefire in World War I, which happened at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.
State Rep. Tim O’Neal of the 48th Legislative District, which includes Washington and surrounding communities, noted that Veterans Day falls one week after Election Day, and Veterans Day can serve as a reminder that “first and foremost, we’re Americans, we’re not Republicans or Democrats.”
He added that those who join the U.S. military “don’t swear an oath to a political party or a certain ideology or a race or religion.”
Darlene Mathis, director of the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies, said that veterans “have shaped our nation, strengthened it and moved it forward.”