All veterans, their families and village residents are invited to attend the Veterans Day Commemoration at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 11, in the first floor ballroom of the Oak Park Arms, 408 S. Oak Park Ave.
Virginia Cassin of the Ernest Hemingway Foundation will welcome guests in the opening ceremonies. The History Singers, John and Kathryn Atwood, will lead patriotic singing. Bugler John Borland, in a WWI uniform, will play taps. Officers from the Oak Park Police Department Honor Guard will form a color guard. Rev. Don Register and Rev. Stan Davis will offer the Invocation and Benediction. John Atwood will focus his remarks on those who fought and sacrificed for that cause.
Veterans Day has its origins in World War I which was called the “war to end all wars.” Originally named Armistice Day, Veterans Day is celebrated on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month to commemorate the end of the War in 1918. In the United States, Veterans Day has evolved into a celebration of the veterans of all wars.
The commemoration is being planned and organized by Virginia Cassin, John Borland of the Oak Park Park District, Heather Lindstrom of the Oak Park Arms, Debby Preiser of the Oak Park Public Library and Brian Flora, a Vietnam veteran and a retired U.S. diplomat with more than 30 years of overseas service.
The event is free and open to the public. Call 708-386-4040.
