Today, Veterans Day, November 11, 2020, was celebrated on the heels of the 245th birthday of the United States Marine Corps., Ridgefield residents joined in solidarity to honor those (locally and globally) who gave their lives for our freedom.
Beginning promptly at 11:00 am at Veterans Memorial Garden, American Legion Post 78, together with the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Marine Corps League Detachment held a beautiful ceremony to honor not only Ridgefield’s veterans but, all of America’s 21,700,000 veterans.
We captured the entire ceremony on video. You can watch it here.
Thank you to American Post 78 commander, George Besse for your hard work in putting together today's patriotic ceremony that honored ordinary people who did extraordinary things for all of us, and for our country.
The musical voice of the American Legion Post 78, Ridgefield High School senior Evelyn Carr opened the ceremony by singing the National Anthem. Carr, whose grandfather was a WWII veteran, has been the singing voice for Post 78 for eight years. She is currently studying at Julliard School of Music.
After thanking veterans, First Selectman Rudy Marconi spoke about our many freedoms, all of which would not exist without the sacrifices of these heroic individuals. “Today as our country meanders our way through our vote for President, I ask that we all think today of the many veterans in our country that fought to allow us the freedom to vote,” said Marconi.
Marconi quoted Charles M. Province:
It is the Soldier, not the minister
Who has given us freedom of religion.
It is the Soldier, not the reporter
Who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the Soldier, not the poet
Who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the Soldier, not the campus organizer
Who has given us freedom to protest.
It is the Soldier, not the lawyer
Who has given us the right to a fair trial.
It is the Soldier, not the politician
Who has given us the right to vote.
It is the Soldier who salutes the flag,
Who serves beneath the flag,
And whose coffin is draped by the flag,
Who allows the protester to burn the flag.
The featured speaker was Ridgefield Police officer Matthew Seibert.
Seibert enlisted in the UCONN Army ROTC in 2008 and was commissioned in the Connecticut Army National Guard in May of 2012, he then graduated from the Military Police Officer Leadership Course at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri in May of A2013. Captain Seibert was deployed to Afghanistan in 2015 in support of Operation RESOLUTE SUPPORT with the 143rd Regional Support Group as the Battle Captain for the Theatre Headquarters’ Base Defense Operation Center. Captain Seibert has received many medals and ribbons for his service that includes the Army Commendation Medal with two Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters.
Officer Seibert joined the Ridgefield Police Department in 2013 and holds a bachelor’s degree from UCONN and a master’s degree in Criminal Justice from Sacred Heart University. He has received specialized training in Crisis Intervention and has been previously assigned to the Detective Bureau.
The ceremony came to a close with Cub Scout Pack 74 laying the wreath on the memorial monument followed by Military Honors with playing of taps.