Martha’s Vineyard Veterans Day activities honor those who served

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Martha's Vineyard will host a Veteran's Day parade on Monday, November 11. — File Photo by Susan Safford

Veterans Day honors military veterans and commemorates the German signing of the Armistice that ended World War One, at the 11th hour, on the 11th day, of the 11th month of 1918. Federal and state agencies will be closed on Monday, November 11, in observance of the holiday.

To honor men and women who have served and are currently serving their country in the military, Islanders will celebrate Veterans Day in several ceremonies and events on Monday.

Veterans Day activities start with the display of flags at the Avenue of Flags in Oak Grove Cemetery, Vineyard Haven. Volunteers are needed to put flags up, starting at 7:30 am, and to take them down, starting at 3 pm.

For the third year in a row, the Department of Veterans Affairs and Veterans Day National Committee have designated the Oak Bluffs Veterans Day Parade as a regional site for the observance of the holiday. Dukes County director of veterans services Jo Ann Murphy and Peter Herrmann, of Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 9261 and the parade’s organizer for many years, were responsible for submitting the application for Oak Bluffs’s designation as one of 64 regional sites nationwide and the only one in Massachusetts.

The Veterans Day Parade steps off from Nancy’s Restaurant in Oak Bluffs at 10:45 am and proceeds to Ocean Park for a brief ceremony.

At 2 pm Windemere Nursing and Rehabilitation Center will hold a reception open to the public to honor resident veterans.