Veterans Day will honor service

TRI-COUNTY AREA--The Schuyler County Veterans Day service will begin at 11 a.m. Friday, Nov. 11 on the front lawn of the county courthouse in Watkins Glen.
"It will be sponsored by the veterans' organizations of Schuyler County," said Anthony Specchio, coordinator of the event. "Our guest speaker will be John R. Antes, retired Army sergeant first class. He has served in Iraq and Afghanistan."
The ceremony will begin with the Boy Scouts raising the flag, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance, he said. A moment of silence will be observed for prisoners of war and those missing in action, as well as the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, he said.
The names will be recited of those currently serving in Afghanistan and Iraq and other hot spots, Specchio said. Village Mayor Sam Schimizzi and county legislature Chairman Dennis Fagan will welcome those gathered, he said.
Other dignitaries will be introduced before Antes speaks, he said. That will be followed by the benediction, "God Bless America," a firing squad and "Taps." Refreshments will be served at the Watkins Glen fire station afterward, he mentioned.
Also on Friday, Nov. 11, a Veterans Day service will be held at 11 a.m. at the McDowell Cemetery, sponsored by the Wayne History Group and Mead-Price American Legion 1208.
A countywide Veterans Day ceremony will be held 11 a.m. Friday, Nov. 11 at the Oliver House Museum, 200 Main St., Penn Yan.
Immediately following the ceremony, the public is invited to the Oliver House Museum to celebrate the grand opening of the new exhibit, "Yates County In the Great War." The exhibit commemorates the upcoming 100th anniversary of American involvement in World War I in 2017.
Refreshments will be offered courtesy of the Penn Yan American Legion and Yates County History Center. The exhibit is handicapped accessible.
Keuka College will mark Veterans Day at 4:15 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11 with ceremony in Norton Chapel honoring veterans who have served, or are currently serving. The program will include special recognition of all veterans in attendance and will conclude in front of the chapel with a traditional gun salute and playing of Taps by members of the Penn Yan American Legion.
After the service, local veterans are invited to dinner at the Geiser Dining Commons, located in the College's Dahlstrom Student Center.
Many people confuse Memorial Day and Veterans Day, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Memorial Day is a day to remember and honor military personnel who died in the service of their country, particularly those who died in battle or as a result of wounds sustained in battle.
While those who died are also remembered, Veterans Day is a day set aside to thank and honor all those who served honorably in the military, in war or peacetime, the department said.
"We try to honor all," Specchio said. "I've always tried to emphasize that that's what we're here for, to honor the living and the dead."
Veterans Day originated with Armistice Day, proclaimed by President Woodrow Wilson in 1919, to honor those who died in World War I.
On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, was declared between the Allied nations and Germany in the First World War, then known as "the Great War," according to History.com.
In 1938, Congress made Armistice Day a legal holiday. At the urging of veterans' service organizations, Congress changed Armistice Day to Veterans Day in 1954, expanding the holiday to honor all veterans.