MIDDLETOWN, Conn. — Each year at the State Veterans Cemetery a service is held to honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for the country.
This year, with Covid-19 constraints, the crowd was sparse but the messages still powerful as state leaders like Senator Richard Blumenthal and Major General Fran Evon of the Connecticut Army National Guard showed up to honor the veterans.
“Today is about honoring those service members who raised their right hand to die for all of us,” General Evon said as he stood alongside the gravesites of so many veterans from past conflicts.
Sgt. Bill Hunt, an 87-year old retired Marine who served in the Korean War, comes to honor fallen soldiers each year in Middletown. “It’s about the men and women who served in the military, that’s what this is about, it’s not about picnics,” Hunt, from Middletown, said.
Memorial Day in Middletown
Vietnam veteran Jerry Augustine, who served in the Army said, “you look at these sacred grounds and this is what it’s all about.” While most everyone in the crowd was wearing masks, this year, Evon said their thoughts are just as important in 2020. “Now we are fighting a different enemy with Covid, so it’s important to take time and reflect and remember.”
This year will be even more poignant because of the number of veterans who have died from coronavirus. Many are old, already frail, and the toll has been especially harsh on veterans. Their relatives mourn their deaths as well as the limits on gathering to remember them.
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