Veterans Day

Under wintry skies, with snow flurries swirling in cold, blustery winds, Riverhead residents gathered at the War Memorial monument on West Main Street Tuesday morning for the town’s annual Veterans Day ceremony. Photo gallery.

Students at Roanoke Avenue Elementary School got a chance to say thank you to local veterans today and speak with them about their service to our country. Photos.

Veterans Day ceremonies pay tribute to the men and women who have protected and preserved our nation and our way of life.

Veterans were honored today at Veterans Day ceremonies in Riverhead and at Calverton National Cemetery. Photo gallery.

The story behind the granite monument topped with an eternal flame that stands on West Main Street on the lawn of the Suffolk County Historical Society Museum, opposite the Riverhead library.

Veterans Day is a holiday so that "a grateful Nation might pay appropriate homage to the veterans of all its wars," said President Dwight Eisenhower in the first proclamation after the holiday was established in 1954.

The Riverhead Combined Veterans Committee today hosted Veterans Day ceremonies this morning at the War Memorial on West Main Street.

"I think the Lord told Joe to pull out his phone to show us pictures of his buddies lost in Vietnam." A chance meeting at Papa Nick's on Main Street led to an East Setauket woman helping to connect Vietnam War veteran Joseph Edler with the family of his fallen buddy, who grew up in the same upstate town as Vitello over half a century ago.

Saturday is Veterans Day, a legal public holiday to honor America’s veterans for their patriotism, love of country and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good. Ceremonies will be held at 11 a.m. in Riverhead and 1 p.m. at Calverton National Cemetery.

A ceremony commemorating Veterans Day took place Friday morning at the War Memorial on West Main Street, hosted by the Riverhead Combined Veterans Committee. Photos