Vets Call For Year-Round Support

With the help of a student orchestra and a slate of elected officials, City Hall speakers celebrated Veterans Day by honoring sacrifices, emphasizing the necessity of mental health and housing supports, and recognizing the challenges of returning to the ​“mundane” when one’s military service is done.

Gov. Ned Lamont, Mayor Justin Elicker, State Sen. Gary Winfield, and others gathered with veterans and their family members for that ceremony on the second floor of City Hall.

“We often talk about the campaigns…but when I listen to it, oftentimes, I’m not hearing the experience of the veterans,” said Winfield, who served in the Navy, and whose father was a Marine and whose grandfather served in the Army. ​“The experience is buried.”

Winfield said that veterans after their service are often perceived as if they are just people who once did something great. ​“We neglect the fact that they are here day in and day out,” he said. ​“Their experiences are happening whether they’re at war or in peace time.”

He spoke of the ​“mundane” that veterans experience. Veterans come back home, contribute to daily life, and must continue on past their service. In order for this process to happen, Winfield said that stepped-up social services need to be accessible to everyone. 

The state senator urged people to ask veterans about what their service meant to them, and to show appreciation for those sacrifices.

Army veteran Bridgette Prince, in attendance at Monday’s ceremony, said Winfield’s description of the ​“mundane” resonated with her. After spending five years in the military abroad in Germany, she suffered an injury and transitioned to civilian services. 

She noted that many veterans struggle with housing, and she advocated for more veteran complexes — ​“even just one” — for veterans to live in community with other veterans.

“You see us veterans usually just recognized on this one day, on Veterans Day,” Prince said. ​“But for all that we contribute, starting with signing our names up to give up our lives, for us to really just be recognized for this one day is a disservice.”

Mayor Justin Elicker said that veterans have made the ​“ultimate sacrifice,” and as a result, should have support and healthcare, alongside other resources. Elicker also talked about the sacrifices that veterans have made to protect the Constitution, alongside civilians’ rights to vote. 

Citing the Latin phrase e pluribus unum, he highlighted freedoms that veterans protect, such as the electoral process, a peaceful transfer of power, and the duty to respect election results.

“I think many of us, perhaps most of us, as a nation today, will agree that we are not quite one,” Elicker said. ​“The beauty of our nation, as history would show, is that while we may come from many backgrounds, ethnicities, states, or we may disagree on many policies, we share common values … that hold our country together.”

The ceremony ended with a song from the orchestra, a benediction, and a trumpeter performing ​“Taps.”