Danvers to Honor Veterans Day with Two Special Events

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the traditional Town of Danvers Veterans Day Ceremony will not take place this year. However, there will be two events occurring to honor veterans. On Veterans Day, November 11th, at 9 AM, there will be a Rolling Caravan, followed by the main event, a Virtual Veterans Day Ceremony broadcast at 11 AM and later at 6 PM on Danvers Community Access Television - Channel 22 on Comcast and Channel 41 on Verizon. The program will also be broadcast on DCAT’s YouTube channel and Facebook page.

Kelley Rayos-Teixeira, the Town’s Veterans Services Officer, stated, “Veterans Day is a time for us to pay our respects to those who have served and are currently serving in the military. It is a special day when we all take pride in honoring our veterans.”

The Veterans Day Rolling Caravan, organized by the Danvers Police Department, will be a military-style procession of Police Cruisers, Fire Apparatus, and first responder vehicles. For more information and specific route directions, please see www.facebook.com/DanversPolice/ or www.danverspolice.com. The public is reminded to adhere to all mandated state guidelines on social distancing and wearing masks.

The virtual ceremony, organized by the Danvers Veterans Council and the town’s Veterans Services Department, will have Dick Moody, president of the Danvers Veterans Council and founder of Operation Troop Support, as Master of Ceremonies. Guest speaker will be Peter Mirandi, recently retired Director of Health and Veterans Affairs for the town, who will present “A Veteran’s Pandemic Story: Past and Present.” Other participants will include a Color Guard by Danvers Police Department, wreath placement by Danvers Girl and Boy Scouts, drum roll and TAPS by Danvers High School Band members, bagpipe music by Capt. Kenneth Reardon, Jr., of the Danvers Fire Department, and volley salute by the Danvers Alarm List Company.

Additionally this year, the ceremony will include a patriotic song by singer Annie Brobst, winner of the 2019 NE Music Awards Live Act of the Year; a story by Jeannine Nash, whose father and 5 brothers (members of the Soucy family of Danvers) all served in WW II or Korea; and a rolling photo presentation of Danvers veterans, both living and deceased, who have proudly served their nation throughout the years.

"This year in particular,” explained Dick Moody, “when the pandemic has reached the battlefield as well as the rest of the world, it is fitting that we all take the time to remember our veterans who have faced adversity, yesterday and today, and defend the principles of our country."