Lawrence Township’s military veterans will be honored Saturday morning at the annual Veterans Day ceremony, which is set for 10 a.m. at American Legion Post 414 on Berwyn Place.
By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
Lawrence Township’s military veterans will be honored Saturday morning at the annual Veterans Day ceremony, which is set for 10 a.m. at American Legion Post 414 on Berwyn Place.
The event, which is open to the public, will feature Gen. George Washington —portrayed by Lawrence resident William Agress — as the principal speaker.
The event is sponsored by American Legion Post 414, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3022, the 112th Field Artillery Association and the Spirit of Lawrence Patriotic Committee.
Steven Groeger, the township’s superintendent of recreation, encouraged residents to attend the ceremony. It will not be a long one, he said, but it is important because it honors soldiers, sailors and airmen.
”The purpose of Veterans Day is to honor all veterans, not just the ones who died,” Mr. Groeger said. “I would like people to be aware of (the Veterans Day ceremony).”
Samuel Alphin, commander of American Legion Post 414, will welcome the audience to the ceremony. Mary Ann Arnold, the post’s chaplain, will offer an invocation, and Cub Scouts who belong to Den 1 Pack 28 will lead the Pledge of Allegiance. The Lawrence High School Madrigal will sing the national anthem.
Mayor Jim Kownacki, Paul DiDonato of Post 414 Sons of the American Legion, Cathleen Scogo of Ameriocan Legion Post 414’s Women’s Auxiliary and Lt. Col. (ret.) Thomas Smith of the 112th Field Artillery Association will offer remarks.
Gen. Washington will offer his remarks.
Presidential memorial certificates will be presented to the families of veterans who have died in the past year, and new names will be added to the Honor Roll at the Municipal Building. The plaques list the names of township residents who served in wartime.
The audience will move outside to watch as a wreath is placed on the monument in Veterans Park, next to the American Legion post, by Mayor Kownacki, Mr. Alphin and Lt. Col. Smith. The Lawrence High School Madrigal will sing “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.”
Veterans Day was originally known as Armistice Day, which commemorated the armistice — or temporary ending of hostilities — in World War I between the Allied nations and Germany at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11, 1918. The war officially ended several months later when the Treaty of Versailles was signed in June 1919.
A few months later, in November 1919, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed Nov. 11 as the first commemoration of Veterans Day. Congress declared it to be a legal holiday in 1938.
But in 1954, after World War II and the Korean War, Congress changed the name from Armistice Day to Veterans Day as a means of honoring veterans of all wars, and it has been known as Veterans Day ever since.

