Goshen, N.Y. – Orange County Executive Steven M. Neuhaus, Senator Mike Martucci and Veterans Service Agency (VSA) Director Christian Farrell joined members of Minisink Valley High School’s JROTC on Tuesday, November 9th to place American flags on more than 3,000 graves at the County’s Veterans Memorial Cemetery in honor of Veterans Day.
“We were proud to host this important event, and owe our veterans our deepest respect and gratitude,” Neuhaus said. “Our veterans have made great sacrifices to ensure we have the freedoms that we enjoy in this country and those sacrifices should never be taken for granted. I want to thank the Minisink Valley High JROTC for its continued dedication to the interests of veterans and our community.”
Veterans Day, which will be observed on Thursday, November 11th, started as a day to reflect upon the heroism of those who died in our country's service and was originally called Armistice Day. It fell on November 11th because that is the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I. However, in 1954, the holiday was changed to Veterans Day to account for all veterans in all wars.
“The cemetery always looks very dignified on Veterans Day thanks to the work of the dedicated cemetery staff and the help of volunteers such as the Minisink Valley JROTC who make sure every grave is marked with an American flag,” Farrell said.
For more information, contact Justin Rodriguez, Assistant to the County Executive for Communications and Media Relations at 845.291.3255 or jrodriguez@orangecountygov.com.
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