By Thane Grauel

WESTPORT — The town on Friday gave a heartfelt thank you to those who have served in the military.

A large crowd filled the Town Hall auditorium to mark Veterans Day, observed each year on the 11^th day of the 11^th month.

It recognizes those who served in the military. Memorial Day, the last Monday in May, honors those who gave their lives.

The common, almost inextricable thread, is sacrifice, which was recognized often in the comments of the speakers, in the musical selections, the reading of poems, and in the town proclamation.

“Service is the foundation of our community, and our country more broadly,” First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker said. “And I can only imagine that when you signed up to serve your country, you didn’t really know where it would take you. Or how these experiences would shape you as a person.”

“And while your experiences are all different, whether you served in wartime or in peace, five years, or 50 years, or longer, you all served this country with honor and distinction,” Tooker said.

“Our community, our country, and our world, are a better place because of each of you,” she said.

Westport Poet Laureate Jessica McEntee read a work from Siegfried Sassoon, an English soldier who fought in World War I, titled “Dreamers.”

“He was born to a very rich family, he spent his days fox hunting, writing pretty poetry, until he was called into action,” McEntee said. “He served in France in 1915, and when he returned home, he used his poetic voice to illuminate the real experience of soldiers, at a time when most poetry of the time was more optimistic, more based in patriotism.”

“Soldiers are citizens of death’s grey land, drawing no dividend from time’s tomorrows,” she read. “In the great hour of destiny they stand, each with his feuds, and jealousies, and sorrows. Soldiers are sworn to action. They must win some flaming, fatal climax with their lives.”

“Soldiers are dreamers. When the guns begin, they think of firelit homes, clean beds and wives.”

“I see them in foul dugouts, gnawed by rats, and in the ruined trenches, lashed with rain, dreaming of things they did with balls and bats, and mocked by hopeless longing to regain bank holidays, and picture shows, and spats. And going to the office in the train.”

The Westport Community Band performed for a half-hour before the ceremony, and also during it. Arrangements included “Liberty,” “Hymn to the Fallen,” “March of the Belgian Paratroopers” and “American Patrol.”

Rabbi Greg Wall of Beit Chaverim Synagogue, gave the invocation and benediction.

He recalled that in the 1970s, he and others from his town would line the streets for parades, though his generation “never got to experience the immense national pride in our country’s military.”

“Some veterans walked normally, some were hunched over, others were in wheelchairs,” Wall said. “But they all walked proudly, men and women who had served our country courageously when asked, whether on the battlefields of Europe, the Pacific, North Africa, Southeast Asia.”

In that era, Wall said, “we were fighting our domestic battles against hate, bigotry, racism, sexism, religious persecution. The enemy from within.”

He recalled his studies of Jewish history, and the times when some undermine society not because of ideology, but for hate.

“We see the same challenges here in America today. The enemy from within is more formidable than ever. Violent attacks on blacks, Asians, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, and yes, Jews, are all on the rise.”

“We look to our veterans once again to serve this time as the moral compass, demonstrating a way of life where everyone is accepted and embraced, without regard to their background, appearance, or religious beliefs.”

Reinforcing that point, Wall told the crowd the story of Marine Chaplain Roland Gittelsohn, a rabbi decorated several times and who wrote a eulogy for troops of all religions after the huge casualties suffered by American forces taking the vital island of Iwo Jima toward the end of World War II.

Politics and prejudices of the time prevented Gittelsohn from delivering the eulogy to troops other than a gathering of Jews, but his forward-thinking thoughts and message nevertheless spread widely and have become an important part of Marine Corps history. Read more about that here.

Tyler Clark, a Staples High School senior, gave the Veterans Day Address. He got applause for mentioning he was headed to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point after graduation.

“Because of the example you have all set, my whole life I have been committed to pushing myself outside of my comfort zone, and not being afraid to fail,” Clark said. “That is the reason why I chose to go to West Point.”

“Before I made my final decision on West Point, my dad said, ‘You know this is going to be hard, right?’ ” he said. “I do know that this is going to be hard, and I’m going to be pushed past my limits, but because of the veterans in this room showing that it is possible, and the legacy that you have all created for yourselves, I’m willing to withstand the hard and challenging times. I was inspired by the sacrifices you have all made, and the respect you have all earned.”

“I want the same for myself,” Clark said. “I want to know that I pushed myself beyond what I imagined my capabilities to be. I want to know that I left my community, and this country, and our world, a greater place.”

A memorial wreath was placed, followed by a three-volley rifle salute by the Police Department outside. Taps was sounded.

Thane Grauel, executive editor, grew up in Westport and has been a journalist in Fairfield County and beyond more than three decades. Reach him at editor@westportjournal.com. Learn more about us here.