KENT, Conn. — The sun shone on a small gathering of residents at the town’s veterans memorial Nov. 11 as members of the American Legion led townspeople in remembering and honoring the sacrifice of the men and women from Kent who have served in the military.
First Selectman Marty Lindenmayer, a former Naval officer, noted that Veterans Day had once been known as Armistice Day, in honor of the end of World War I, but that it has grown into something greater as veterans from all wars have been included.
“We should be proud of those names behind me, names of the men and women answered the call,” he said, referring to the names inscribed on the five plinths behind him that recount the names of veterans from the Korean War through the Persian Gulf Era,” he said. “Kent is proud to say, ‘Thank you.’”
The Maple Street memorial is only the latest to be created in town. The first, located at the center of the intersection at routes 341 and 7, honors Civil War veterans and was erected in 1886.
North on Main Street, the Kent Memorial Library is the paean erected to celebrate World War I veterans in 1922.
Kent’s American Legion Commander Brent Kallstrom recounted the history of Veterans Day from its original incarnation as Armistice Day at the end of World War I, often dubbed “the war to end all wars.”
“That peace did not survive the fascist tyrannies of Hitler and Mussolini,” he lamented, adding that “the freedom enjoyed by Europeans today is the result of the service and sacrifice of millions of Americans.”
Those Americans endured long separations, missed the births of children, froze in subzero temperatures or baked in jungles, lost limbs and, too often, their lives for freedom, he said.
And it was not just the veterans who served.
“Their spouses have endured the interruption of careers, frequent changes of address and a disproportionate share of parenting,” he added.
At present, fewer than 10 percent of the nation’s population can claim to be veterans, he said. Yet, these men and women have ensured freedom and security and have made us the greatest nation on Earth.
Last year’s ceremony was recorded, and a copy was presented to the town’s last World War II veteran, Bob Bauer, who returned to Kent and led a long and fruitful life of service to the town.
Bauer died only six weeks later, severing Kent’s last link to the valorous service its young men contributed to that conflict.
