American Legion Gloucester Post 75 held a Veterans Day program at the Gloucester County Veterans’ Memorial Wall on Sunday to honor veterans of all wars fought by the United States.
Post adjutant Joseph J. Dugan served as master of ceremonies for the event. He spoke of Veterans Day originating as Armistice Day after World War I, marking the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918.
Dugan told the small group gathered to remember the soldiers who were prisoners of war and missing in action and to be mindful that the “sweetness of peace” is invariably marked by the “bitterness of sacrifice.” He referred to the ceremony of the “Missing Man Table,” which honors POWs and MIAs by setting a table with 10 elements that have symbolic meaning, including a single place setting to represent the absence of the fallen comrade and a single lighted candle that reflects hope for their return. He also read the classic wartime poem “In Flanders Fields.”
The keynote speaker was Hayes resident Ri...