Saluting those who have served

Like fellow Americans across the nation, Cape Ann residents will gather tomorrow at a variety of sites to honor and thank military veterans who have served their country — including those now deployed in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

The largest of the Veterans Day events, revolving round the historic 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month — the exact time of the signing of the armistice that ended World War I in 1918 — will be in Gloucester, where the city's Office of Veterans' Services and the Gloucester United Veterans Council will host the city's official observances tomorrow beginning with a 9 a.m. ceremony at Gloucester High School's Benjamin A. Smith Field House, followed by a parade to the Joan D'Arc Statue at American Legion Square.

There, a second ceremony and the traditional laying of wreathes will be presented at 11 a.m.

A luncheon will follow at the Maj. Fred W. Ritvo Veterans Center on Emerson Avenue, with former state Rep. and longtime veterans' activist Anthony Verga as guest speaker.

The ceremonies will include Gloucester residents on active duty or recently discharged from military service, members of the Cape Ann Military Family Support Group, and families of active duty personnel.

Veterans from all branches of the service will be attending and will be recognized for their service, with other speakers to include Mayor Carolyn Kirk; assistant state Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, and state Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante. Vietnam veteran and Gloucester attorney Mark Nestor will serve as master of ceremonies.

The program will also include an invocation and benediction by the Rev. Anne L. Deneen. Music will be provided by the Combined City Wide School Bands under the direction of David L. Benjamin.

The Docksiders, directed by David Adams, and the Plum Cove School Singers, directed by Connie Richards, will attend again this year.

Cindy Carrancho will play "Amazing Grace" on the bagpipes, while¬ Diana Newton will sing the National Anthem and the Salute to the Armed Services.

The event will also feature a drill demonstration by the Gloucester High School JROTC, a rifle volley by AMVETS Post 32, and color guard presentations from Coast Guard Station Gloucester, Gloucester Police Department, Gloucester Fire Department, Gloucester High School MJROTC, and service organizations.

All returning veterans and families are encouraged to take part.¬ Trolley service by the Cape Ann Transportation Authority will be available from Gloucester High School to American Legion Square and back.

Rockport ceremonies

Meanwhile, in Rockport, the American Legion Post adjacent to Back Beach will host Veterans Day ceremonies tomorrow beginning at 10 a.m., when the Legion Band, with Stephen Thomas conducting, delivers a "Salute to the Armed Forces."

Retired U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Michael Silva, Post Commander Melvin P. Olson and Legion Auxiliary President Madith Mantyla will deliver remarks, with retired U.S. Navy Capt. Earl Kishida serving as the special guest "Speaker of the Day."

At the historic 11 a.m. hour, a military salute to those who have given their lives in all wars will be delivered by the firing squad of Post 98, with bugler Eric Beaulier.

Manchester and Essex

Veterans Day ceremonies in Essex will take on a special air tomorrow.

The 10 a.m. program at the Essex Senior Center features installation of a U.S. flag that has flown over the Capitol building in Washington; the flag was presented to the Essex Council on Aging in August by Congressman John Tierney, D-Salem.

The flag installation will be following by a brief ceremony, and refreshments will be served.

Members of the Essex Police and Fire departments, selectmen and area Boy and Girl Scouts have been invited to be a part of ceremony, along with all local veterans.

In Manchester, Amaral-Bailey Post 113 will host a Veterans Day ceremony open to all tomorrow at 11 a.m.

The Manchester event will feature a flag-burning ceremony to carry out the proper disposal of tattered or otherwise worn out American flags that are due to be retired.

Cape Ann Military Support Group

Not all of the Veterans Day festivities are confined to tomorrow.

The Cape Ann Military Families Support Group will meet Thursday, at 7 p.m. at Gloucester's Maj. Frank Ritvo Veterans Center on Emerson Avenue to hear guest speaker Lt. Col. Kate Van Auken, who has been deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan. The public is invited.

Van Auken will present her guide on deployment, "What Every Parent/Spouse Needs to Have At Hand."

The group is also planning ahead for mailing Christmas packages to our troops, with an eye toward shipping them out by Dec. 5.

Cinema celebrates veterans

Cape Ann Community Cinema will commemorate Veterans Day with three films, with partial proceeds going to benefit the Gloucester Office of Veterans Services.

Tomorrow, on Veterans Day, "The Good Soldier" will run at 7:30 p.m. This film follows five combat veterans from different generations of American wars as they sign up, go into battle and eventually change their minds about what it means to be good soldiers.

An encore presentation of the Doctober Fest Documentary Film Festival favorite "The Way We Get By" follows on Thursday, also at 7:30 p.m. This film focuses on a group of senior citizens gathering daily at a small airport in Bangor, Maine, to thank American soldiers departing for and returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Saturday, Nov. 14, at 2 p.m., the film "Rethink Afghanistan" makes its local debut. This feature-length documentary about the war in Afghanistan fosters a platform for discussion and debate. For ticket prices and more information, call 978-309-8448 or visit www.CapeAnnCinema.com.

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Veterans Day programs abound around Cape Ann

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