November 12, 2002

RAHWAY REMEMBERS VETERANS

RAHWAY, NJ – Mayor James Kennedy and some 100 residents braved the rain on Monday, November 11 to thank the men and women who served in our nation’s military at the city’s veterans memorial at the corner of West Grand and St. Georges Avenues.  The ceremony was the city’s annual Veteran’s Day commemoration, which is sponsored by the Rahway Veterans Central Committee.

This year’s featured speaker was Paul Sutton, President of the New Jersey State Council of the Vietnam Veterans of America.

Veteran’s Day began as a tribute to those lost in World War I as Armistice Day, which officially received its name in America in 1926 through a Congressional resolution.  It became a national holiday 12 years later by similar Congressional action.   After the end of World War II in 1945, Congress was requested to make this day an occasion to honor those who have served America in all wars.  In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a bill proclaiming November 11 as Veterans Day.

For more information on the origins of Veterans Day, visit the official web site of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.

Click here to view more pictures from the event.