Amherst Town Common 11:00 AM
About 50 citizens showed up for the town ceremony on the historic North Common somewhat under the big ceremonial US flag the town flies on special occasions along with the 30 commemorative flags now flying in the downtown.
Select Board Chair Alisa Brewer gave a short measured speech about how the town needs to be accepting of veterans even if they seem somewhat different from our usual demographic.
Select Board Chair Alisa Brewer briefly addresses the crowd
The Veterans Day ceremony/observance was revived exactly 15 years ago in the immediate wake of 9/11.
It had been at least a generation or maybe two since the town hosted a Veterans Day ceremony as back then the town was far more interested in hosting/celebrating the anti-war movement, which occasionally crossed into anti-veteran territory.
In fact the newly revived ceremony in 2001 was crashed by abrasive protesters (the invasion of Afghanistan to get Osama bin Laden had just begun) who outnumbered the more respectful celebrants who dared to show up.
Just when things were about to escalate to a riot stage, a pair of majestic A-10 warthogs screamed in from the south and flew over the heated crowd at the lowest altitude I have ever seen.
Everything came to a dead silent stop -- kind of like slapping a person who has briefly gone hysterical. Folks on both sides came to their senses, and quietly left the field of battle.
Today's ceremony was nothing but respectful
Was that when your wife and Izzy were in Burkas?
ReplyDeleteYes.
ReplyDeleteLarry can you explain burka comment?
ReplyDeleteBut not before the huge Marine that was there who had sung the Nation Anthem A cappella cried out to the fading sound of the screaming Warthogs "Do you hear that?! That's the sound of FREEDOM!!!!"
ReplyDeleteThank You to all of the Veterans in our midst that have fought for the freedoms we take for granted everyday.
Hampshire College burned the American flag in Amherst today. How does that work in with your plans?
ReplyDeleteWAR-What is it good for ???!!
DeleteAbsolutely... er... the economy!
DeleteLarry, it was a LONG way from a riot, particularly since the lefties were BADLY outnumbered by a UMRC contingent under strict orders not to *start* anything.
ReplyDeleteIt was merely progressing towards the level of incivility that we routinely experienced at UMass.