The 2024 Veterans Day Ceremony will occur on Monday, November 11, starting at 10:00 a.m., at Monument Park, located at the intersection of North Division Street and Highland Avenue. The Veterans Day Ceremony is hosted by the City of Peekskill and the Peekskill American Legion, Captain Oliver C. Chase Jr. Post 274, who also hosts the annual Memorial Day Ceremony in May.
Photo Credit: Captain Oliver C. Chase, Jr. American Legion Post 274 Facebook Page
The Veterans Day Ceremony will honor all surviving veterans and those serving in our military today. As in years past, the Peekskill Veterans Day Ceremony will include veterans, a gun salute, the Peekskill Fire Department, Peekskill Police Dept, members of the Peekskill High School Band, politicians, and more.
All citizens are urged to attend to show their gratitude for a country who has never lacked young men and women who were willing to place themselves in harm’s way. “We urge every citizen to come to our services and join us in honoring and praying for all of our active and retired comrades and their families and demanding they be properly equipped and supported in their missions and when they come home and need follow up care,” said Post Commander John Donohue. For further information on the Peekskill American Legion, located at 936 McKinley Street, or the 2024 Veterans Day Ceremony, call John Donohue at 914-739-1560 or 917-834-8588.
As the City of Peekskill, and the entire Country, celebrates and honors its Veterans, the Peekskill Herald encourages everyone to check out the record number of Military Banners hanging throughout the City of Peekskill as part of the Military Banner Tribute Program. The banners are set to come down soon as they are up from Memorial Day to Veterans Day. This year more than 73 banners have been placed and can be found hanging on six streets throughout the City including Welcher Avenue, Highland Avenue, Overlook Avenue, Washington Street, Division Street and Brown Street.
Veterans Day is a day to commemorate the heroism of our soldiers and dedicate a day to the cause of world peace. Veterans Day originated as “Armistice Day” on Nov. 11, 1919, the first anniversary of the end of World War I. Congress passed a resolution in 1926 making it an annual observance, and it became a national holiday in 1938. Sixteen years later, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed legislation changing the name to Veterans Day to honor all those who served their country during war or peacetime. On this day, the nation honors military veterans with parades and other observances across the entire Country and honors those who have perished in a ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
Here in Peekskill, we have carried on a time honored tradition of honoring those Veterans who have served that came from Peekskill, Cortlandt, and the entire Country.
According to Census.gov, there are:
- 15.8 million military veterans in the United States in 2023, representing 6.1% of the total civilian population age 18 and over.
- 1.7 million number of female veterans in the United States in 2023, representing 10.9% of the total veteran population.
- 0.6% is the share of veterans in 2023 who served during World War II. Additionally, 3.5% of veterans served during the Korean War; 33.0% during the Vietnam War; 24.8% during the Persian Gulf War; and 28.0% during the Post-9/11 period (September 2001 to present).
- 8.6% is the percentage of veterans in 2023 who were Hispanic or Latino (of any race). Additionally, 72.2% of veterans were White alone (not Hispanic or Latino); 12.6% Black or African American alone; 2.0% Asian American alone; 0.8% American Indian or Alaska Native alone; 0.2% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander alone; and 2.8% were Some Other Race alone. The percentages include only those who reported a single race.
- 27.9% is the share of veterans 75 and older in 2023. At the other end of the age spectrum, 8.3% of veterans were younger than age 35.
A Veterans Day poem by Cheryl Dyson
Veterans Day
On Veterans Day we honor all
Who answered to a service call.
Soldiers young and soldiers old
Fought for freedom, brave and bold.
Some have lived, while others died,
And all of them deserve our pride.
We’re proud of all the soldiers who
Kept thinking of red, white, and blue.
They fought for us and all our rights.
They fought through many days and nights.
And though we may not know each name,
We thank all veterans just the same.
Don’t forget to tell everyone at the Veterans Day Ceremony that you read about it in the Peekskill Herald.
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