Norwalk Marks Veterans Day at City Hall, Schools

The American Festival Band will play at 9:30 a.m. in Norwalk Concert Hall, and a ceremony saluting veterans will follow as part of the city's commemoration of their service.

At 10:30 a.m., a ceremony will take place, starting with a presentation of the colors, the National Anthem, played by the band, which will also play patriotic music at various times during the event.

Rabbi Joseph Ron Fish of Congregation Beth El will give the invocation, and Buddy Scudder, chairman of the Norwalk Veterans Memorial Committee, will give opening remarks. Mayor Richard A. Moccia will also speak.

Jarvis Johnson, the veterans affairs specialist in the Bridgeport office of U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, is the featured speaker at the ceremony. Johnson was in the U.S. Navy from 1989 to 2009, achieved the rank of petty officer, first class, and retired for medical reasons.

Johnson grew up in Bridgeport and now lives in Stratford. While in the Navy, he earned the Navy/Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Navy/Marine Corps Achievement Medal, twice earned the Joint Meritorious Unit Award, and earned the Navy United Commendation, the Navy "E" ribbon (three times), the Good Conduct Medal (six times), and various campaign and service medals and ribbons.

Alison Faye will sing the "Battle Hymn of the Republic," backed up by the band, which will end the ceremony with "Stars and Stripes Forever."

Editor's note: Norwalk Public Schools on Thursday issued the following news release:

The Norwalk Public Schools will be open on Veterans Day, November 11, 2011.  We are proud to announce that all of our nineteen schools will have activities to honor and recognize our Veterans.

Our JROTC students as in prior years will participate in the Veterans Day Ceremony at City Hall.  The annual Veterans Day Memorial Committee Ceremony will be held on Friday, November 11, in the Norwalk Concert Hall.

The ceremony will be preceded by a concert by the American Festival Band at 9:30 a.m.

The formal ceremony starts at 10:30 a.m. with the presentation of the massed colors of all local patriotic and some civic organizations.  We are honored that the Norwalk Public Schools’ students will participate at the ceremony at the City Hall.

Coinciding with Veterans Day ceremony, a moment of silence at 11:00 am on the 11th day in the 11th month in the year 2011, all 11,000 students in the Norwalk Public schools will take part in a moment of silence also.

All of our 11,000 students will have the opportunity to participate in Veterans Day activities at their schools.  The students will have the opportunity to meet men and women who have served in our armed forces, speak to family members and engage in academic activities related to Veterans Day.  

The Norwalk Public Schools is indebted to the Norwalk Veterans Memorial Committee for its willingness to work with our schools to support the Veterans Day activities.