WILMINGTON — About 20 veterans gathered at St. Mary Magdalen Church on Nov. 11 to be honored for their service by students at the parish elementary school.
Many St. Mary Magdalen students and a few teachers wore their scouting uniforms to the church, and “Taps” played as students processed in with a wreath and various flags, including the American flag, carried by the school’s color guard.
Father James Kirk, the pastor, offered prayers for all veterans, especially those from the parish. He said the United States is not alone in marking Veterans Day.
“It is observed in Italy and many other Christian countries throughout the world,” he said.
“We ask you to bless the members of our armed forces. Be their power and protector,” he said.
Veterans Day is observed on Nov. 11 because the armistice that ended the hostilities of World War I was agreed to on Nov. 11, 1918. Known as Armistice Day, it became a legal holiday in 1938. Following World War II and the Korean War, the name was changed to Veterans Day in 1954.
Each of the veterans in attendance at St. Mary Magdalen who was able walked to the front of the church, where he or she received a “patriot’s bracelet” from two students, along with a grommet from the parish’s most recent flag retirement ceremony.
One of the veterans in attendance was Guido R. Schiavi, a St. Mary Magdalen parishioner and veteran of World War II. Schiavi, a 1944 graduate of Salesianum School, was drafted into the Army in January 1945 and was serving in Okinawa when Japan surrendered.
Photos by Mike Lang.
