A Message from the Fraternal Order of Eagles

Veteran’s Day 2019

Around 100 community members gathered at the Cathedral of the Pines to take part in the Veterans Day ceremony in Rindge, NH. The half-hour long service, hosted in collaboration with the Rindge Veterans Association, was attended by veterans with backgrounds ranging from WWII, and the Vietnam War to the Iraq war.

(21-gun salute)

On this Armistice Day of November 11th, 2019, the three-man squad fired a 21-gun salute formation to commemorate those who risked their lives during war. Gunshots from outside pierced the air as the veterans and community residents stood in the Hilltop House, Cathedral of the Pines’ only service room. “People seemed to be touched by this day as well as having the opportunity to commemorate such a special memory of theirs,” Executive Director Patricia J. Vargas said.
On a larger scale, this day, originally marking the end of World War I represents both peace and mourning as the military forces around the globe honor the veterans and remember the lost souls. “Our soldiers are to be honored and this is their day. We need to keep showing appreciation for the work they did for our country,” Vietnam war veteran Paul Stewart said.

(Hilltop House service room)

The event included the donation of Milton Wisan’s Purple Heart, awarded to the soldiers who died at war or sustained an injury during an armed conflict. Mr. Wisan was a gunner for a Sherman tank during the African campaign in WWII and suffered a serious injury when his tank was blown up by a Nazi attack in late 1942.

“I donated his Purple Heart to the Museum at the Cathedral of the Pines so that his relatives and their descendants could see it and remember that he and thousands like him risked their lives to continue the uneven growth of a multi-ethnic nation,” Mark Wisan, Milton’s nephew said.

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