 Good morning everyone. I do think we're ready to begin now Welcome, my name is Susan Cotay, and I'm the current president of the Williston-Richard Rotary Club I'm happy to welcome you to this gathering today. Can everyone hear me? All right. I'll just hold this better Okay, I want to thank Eric Wells and the town of Williston for helping us put on this Veterans Day event and All of you for coming How lucky are we? How lucky are we to be able to choose to be here on this cold morning? How lucky are we to be able to choose to be here in this small park this morning to honor our veterans past and present? We are fortunate to enjoy the freedom of assembly and our freedom of speech To enjoy the relative safety of our community and our country For this great fortune, we must thank our veterans Those who have served in the past and those who to continue to serve today Oh beautiful for heroes proved in liberating strife Who more than self their country loved and mercy more than life You may recognize those lines from America the beautiful In times of conflict and in times of peace Men and women in the armed forces have stood ready to defend our homeland and to defend the ideals of freedom That lie at the foundation of our union Whether on the front line in harm's way or in supporting roles these men and women have and do Step forward to offer their talents and their time Time away from family from friends from work from hobbies to offer their best for their fellow Americans It is that sacrifice that we honor today Some of you here are counted among them today. We express our gratitude to you and To the many willestonians and brahmoners before you who more than self their country loved We also express our gratitude To your loved ones who have supported you and who have helped you to make your contributions possible The freedom that we enjoy today is precious and we must defend it So now is the time to not only honor those who have fought or are fighting for our freedom It is also the time for each of us to take part in protecting it each of us shares that responsibility if We want to preserve our freedoms. We must put them into action For example by voting in elections speaking out against injustice and volunteering in our communities We must also ensure that everyone everyone feels the benefits of freedom Veterans day is a day for all Americans It's a day to remember and appreciate why our veterans served And a day for all of us to commit to honor them with our actions Not just our words by protecting our freedom and the freedom of future generations Now I would like to welcome Ted Kenny Rotarian and chair of the willeston select board So would you would you please join me in saying the Pledge of Allegiance? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands One nation under God Indivisible with liberty and justice for all Thank you I'm reverend paul ire pastor wilson fairy of church with the white steeple just down the street And in this moment, I invite you to join in a moment of prayer On this day, oh god We honor those who served In this moment when the anguished images of war Fill the airwaves and sadden our very souls We are grateful Grateful for those who stepped forward with courage and commitment to serve our country At a time when our nation and indeed the world Is nearly torn apart by deep division and profound distrust We give thanks for those who modeled a different way We offer our gratitude For those men and women Whose service and sacrifice pointed the way toward common purpose Uplifted by their example May we all aspire to find common ground Amen Hi, I'm phil Stevens and I'm here to talk a little bit about this park and the bricks that are here a few years ago Deb Beckett who was our Town clerk and also a fellow raterian Started this project to have bricks engraved with the names of veterans in place in this park Her idea was to honor veterans and donate any profit to the Rotary Charities Fund to help with Rotary projects On the way to early passing of deb it has become my honor To continue this Rotary project Providing a lasting memory memorial to veterans every member of the armed services deserves our sincere gratitude For their service No matter how small or insignificant they may think their contribution was or is It is not without cost to them and their families Whether they died in battle or suffered physical or mental damage Or returned home to die early from burn pit exposure or suicide Or simply cannot reenter society Because of their trauma or PTSD They have given And we must Show our gratitude If you know of a veteran and wish to have them receive this recognition I have a flyer on the back table that will tell you the process to be able to Include them in this project I will now read the names Of the 41 veterans who are currently recognized By these bricks Deborah Beckett John L. Bevin's senior Ken Blau Norman Boyden Benjamin Brissette Courtney Brissette Harold E. Brown John Burroughs Stuart Burroughs Brian Decatur Lester Duret Armand Fornier Alvin L. Eischem David H. Eischem George E. Eischem Kenneth L. Eischem Roderick C. Eischem Truman R. Eischem Harold Cardamon Stephen LeBreck James Leet Charlie McGill Jack Martin James D. McCullough Kenneth L. Morrison Sr. Lewis V. Nigel Troy Lee O'Brien Linwood Osborne David Raymond Park David R. Park Jr. M.D. James R. Peia Jr. Cecile Phillips Don Phillips Alan C. Rock George D. Rockwood Maxine Rosenthal Robert L. Rounds Kenneth C. Schaeffler Jeff Smarton Ken Stone Arthur F. Tuttle Thank you Good morning I'm Jean Kennedy, a member of the Williston Richmond Roadery Club and I'm going to take a little bit of privilege being the first one to start the honor roll that we will be reading to mention a couple other things. I just wanted to remind people that Veterans Day was designated a holiday by U.S. President Calvin Coolidge, Vermont's own in 1926 and some of us remember, some of us here, not all of us, that it was then called Armistice Day in 1954 under the Eisenhower administration. The name was changed to Veterans Day and this day most likely, as Susan so nicely mentioned in her beautiful speech, it touches every single one of us because unlike Memorial Day that honors those killed while serving and Armed Forces Day that honors those who are currently serving. This day honors every single veteran and many of us have those in my life like my son Patrick who is a U.S. Army veteran. So thank you for allowing me that bit and on to the reading of the roll of the Willistonian veterans we are so proud to remember today. Robert Albert, George Dana Alling, Harold H. Asseltine, James Asseltine, Guy Bates, John Bates, Debra Beckett, Paul Beggins, William Beggins, Edmund Beallair, Edward Beallair, Roy Beallair, Rainey Burrard, Charles M. Brown, Amy L. Bhutan, Gerrard Bhutan, Rowland Bhutan and John A. Braddish and I'll pass the mic on to the next person. Can you all hear me okay? Hilda Bruce, sorry my name is Leslie Murray, I'm with the Williston Richmond Rotary Club. Hilda Bruce, Margaret Bruce, Muriel Bruce, Phyllis Bruce, Edward Burnett, James Burnett, Norman Burnett, Henry Campania, Raymond Campania, Howard Casey, Kenneth Charland, William Z. Chisholm, Joseph Christmas, James Cormier, Clifford Cross, Stanley Davis, Robert C. Deal, Curtis D'Amour. Hi, I'm Reverend Debbie Ingram, I'm also with the Rotary Club. Frank Dow, Eugene Defrain, Lawrence Fourville, Lloyd Fuller, Robert Fuller, Noel Goffier, Paul Goffier, Donald Germain, Donald Goodrich, John Harper, Robert P. Goyette, John Elliott Hawkins, Leroy S. Horton, Dwayne B. Holbert, Donald Johnson, Ryland Johnson, Clarence Kendrew. Oh, I'm Barbara Lou Winter and I'm also from the Williston Richmond Rotary. Albert LaCasse, Catherine LaCasse, Clarence LaCasse, Francis LaCasse, Raymond LaCasse, Newell C. Langley, Donald LaRocque, Joyce Larrow, Walter C. Lascha, Nelson LaFabre, David Mace, Ruth Mace, Vernon Mace, Vernon R. Mace, Malcolm C. Martel, Arthur Maynard, James McCullough, Clarence J. Merchant. Jude Hersey, I'm also a member of the Williston Richmond Rotary. It's a great honor to have this service today and to recognize what it takes for families to have someone in the service and not feel like they're recognizing so. It's a real honor for us. Harold L. Merchant, Robert C. Merrill, Randolph Miller, Walter Miller, Clement Mongeon, Julian Mongeon, Leonard Mongeon, Irving Lossie, Ashile Niles, Charles A. Niles, Bernardo Bryan, Julia O'Brien, Marshall O'Brien, Troy O'Brien, Jesse Osborn, Roland Osborn, Frank Palady Jr., and Harry Palady. Good morning, everyone. I'm Sally Metro, also a Rotarian. Fred Pollard, Earl E. Picard, Ralph Pillsbury, Jeffrey B. Pollock, Burnett M. D. Rossin, Robert Robair, Emile Roberts, Gerard Roberts, Henry Roberts, Alan C. Rock, Walter Rule, Ernest B. Sadlier, Kenneth Sadlier, Ralph Santor, Anthony Senna, Harold Senna, Julius Senna, Norman Senna. Again, I'm Leslie Murray with the Williston Richmond Rotary Club, and I want to thank you all for being here, especially on this chilly morning. I will be reading the last of the names. Halsey Short Sleeves, Roy Sinclair, Mark Cyple, Melvin Smale, Value Spalding, Weldon Spalding, Stanley Stanley, Clifford Tardy, Joseph Tardy, Henry Terrier, Clark E. Tulip, Clifford Turner, Carl Urie, John H. Witton, Clarence Wolford, Ira E. Yandau. If anyone in attendance today has names of other veterans, names we have not read, please raise your hand so that we can acknowledge them. And I would like to ask veterans in attendance today to please stand if you can or if not, if you could just raise your hand so that we can acknowledge you. I am so honored that you're here today. Thank you and thank you so much for your service. We will never ever be able to thank you enough. Thank you, Leslie. Before we conclude this morning, I would like to read a portion of a letter sent to us for this day by Senator Bernie Sanders. Dear friends, each Veterans Day, we pause to honor all those who have put on the uniform to serve our country. Thank you to all the veterans and their families here today, as well as the 38,000 veterans across our state and their families for their bravery and sacrifice. We also are keenly aware of the important work of all the members of the Vermont National Guard who are currently deployed overseas and thank them for their dedication and commitment to our state and nation. We owe all of our veterans and their families a tremendous debt of gratitude which we will never truly be able to repay. Today and every day, we must recommit ourselves to keeping America's promise to you, just as you kept your promise to us. And if you'd like to read the full text of the letter, there are copies over on the refreshment table that you can look at or take. Now as we conclude, I would like us to observe a moment of silent reflection to honor our veterans. Thank you. I really appreciate everyone coming here today and so happy to see so many of our veterans with us. You've made this a special morning for all of us. Please join us for hot coffee. You might need some of that right now. And some refreshments home baked by members of the Rotary Club. So again, thank you for being here. On Veterans Day, it's important to recognize that one thing among so many others that veterans model for us is the fact that they come together from diverse backgrounds and yet find common purpose and then serve faithfully in pursuit of that purpose. And that's an example that we can all learn from right now. Good day. I'm Norman Pat Boyden. I'm a veteran, served in Vietnam. I served in West Berlin, Germany for two years. I've served as a chaplain for much of my time. I had a guardian angel on my shoulder in Vietnam. And because of that, I've dedicated myself to being a chaplain for veterans. I've served in that capacity since 1990. So many, many years. I don't have a ceremony in Randolph or Memorial Day many times. I tell people, if you know the story of the cat of nine lives, I'm on my fourth cat. My guardian angel has been there and protected me. There's no good reason that I can honestly tell you that I should be able to talk to you now. I've met death that many times. But I'm here and I'm sharing. So that's it for today. Thank you.