'We are compelled to never forget'
Highland Mills. Veterans Day commemoration in the Town of Woodbury.
| 14 Nov 2019 | 12:42
Veterans saluting during the placing of the ceremonial wreath at the Heroes’ Monument in Highland Mills on Veterans Day included Ferris Tomer, Don Blair, Bill Doyle, Fred Ungerer, Bob Cotter, Ralph Caruso and Joe Leonardi. (
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Pictured at the Heroes’ Memorial with the Boy Scouts are, from left to right: Ralph Caruso, Don Blair, Bill Doyle, Bob Cotter, Ken Smith and Fred Ungerer. The scouts (in the center of the photo), members of Woodbury Troop 4, included (top row): Ricky Quiles (16), Brandon Gibson (17), Lars Poutsma (13); and (infront): Daniel Askenazy (13), Aiden Askenazy (11) and Liam McMahon (12).
The colors are retired by Post 779 Color Guard and veterans Ralph Caruso and Don Blair.
Veteran Ken Smith places the ceremonial wreath at the base of the Heroes’ Memorial at the conclusion of the Veterans Day Ceremony
Veteran Joe Leonardi poses with Mena Hunter, age 7, who had thanked him for his service – he allowed her to wear his cap till the end of the day’s events.
Attendees at the Veterans Day service at the Highland Mills United Methodist Church sing “God Bless America.”
“Those who have served, and those currently serving in the uniformed services of the United States, are ever mindful that the sweetness of enduring peace has always been tainted by the bitterness of personal sacrifice,” read veteran Bob Cotter in honoring the nation’s missing in action and prisoners of war at a commemorative ceremony at the Highland Mills United Methodist Church on Veterans Day, Nov. 11.
“We are compelled to never forget that while we enjoy our daily pleasures, there are others who have endured and may still be enduring the agonies of pain, deprivation and imprisonment.”
This recognition of those who have served and not returned was just part of a solemn ceremony which has been conducted at the Methodist Church for at least 10 years, said American Legion Woodbury Post Commander William Doyle, a veteran of the Army’s 101st Airborne and 70th Field Artillery divisions.
Doyle, also a member of the church, organizes the event each year in cooperation with his church, the American Legion and the Cemetery of the Highlands.
“We just think it’s the right thing to do,” said Vietnam era Army veteran Fred Ungerer.
Ungerer, the post’s chaplain, served from 1964 to 1966, spending a part of his service overseas in Korea.
“I was trained as a forward observer-artillery surveyor and spent 15 months in South Korea,” Ungerer said. “I was lucky; it was a learning experience. I have no regrets and am happy to have served.”
At the ceremony, before a church full of attendees, four Korean War veterans were honored with special certificates recognizing them for their service. They were Donald Blair, Ferris Homer, Joseph Marshall, and Bill McLennan (Marshall and McLennan, in absentia).
Both “God Bless America” and the national anthem were sung by those assembled as part of the patriotic program.
To conclude the day’s ceremony, veteran Ken Smith, accompanied by veterans, Boy Scouts and Woodbury residents, placed a wreath at the Heroes’ Monument in the rear of the cemetery, which reads, carved in granite: “In Memory of Our Dead Heroes: Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and Nurses of All Wars. U.S.A.”
Veterans and attendees were treated to light refreshments after the formal program ended.