More than 900,000 veterans call New York home. Vets have marched in Albany's traditional Veterans' Day Parade for more than fifty years. The parade stepped off at 11:11am from Central Ave & Manning Blvd, headed down Central to Lark St and then along Washington Avenue to N Hawk Street to the reviewing stand on the steps of the State Education building.
Flags fly at half-staff in Albany on Veterans Day in honor of families who lost loved ones serving in the military. Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a law on Sunday directing that those flags will now be given to the service members' families at no cost. The bill was sponsored by State Senators Cecilia Tkaczyk and Hugh Farley, and Assemblywoman Patricia Fahy.
Several area colleges are saluting the military men and women who have served our country with Veterans Day events.
The College of St. Rose in Albany conducted a flag-raising ceremony commemorating the valor of all who have served their country, which was followed by a luncheon for the College’s veterans and their immediate families. The school also displayed photos by veteran students attending Saint Rose in the lobby of the Events and Athletics Center and set up Operation Adopt a Soldier donation boxes at various locations around the campus.
Tonight at 6 in the Shea Learning Center at The Sage colleges, author James D. Redwood will host a talk and read excerpts from his book “Love beneath the Napalm.” The book is a collection of short stories about Vietnam. It spans the imperial and French colonial period, the U.S. engagement in Southeast Asia and the aftermath of the conflict. Redwood, who went to Saigon, South Vietnam in 1972 to teach English, began publishing short stories based on his experiences in Vietnam in 1993. He is currently a professor at Albany Law School.
The last observance, the third annual Commemorative Flag Dedication Ceremony, will be held at 7p.m. in Bush Memorial Center. One hundred and twenty more flags have been added to the collection, which now includes more than 400 flags, created by members of the local community to remember those who served or are serving in the Armed Forces.
Introduced on November 11, 1919, Veterans Day was originally called Armistice Day, celebrating the heroes that served in World War I. After World War II, veteran Raymond Weeks wanted to expand the holiday to celebrate all veterans. In 1954, the word "Armistice" was officially replaced with "Veterans."
