Around Town

VFW Seeks Volunteers and Donations for Wreath Laying at Lakeview Cemetery [UPDATED]

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[Note: This article has been updated to show that volunteers are asked to enter Lakeview Cemetery from the Lakeview Avenue entrance across from the Avalon apartments.]

Volunteers are wanted to assist VFW Post 653 in New Canaan to lay wreaths at the graves of deceased veterans at Lakeview Cemetery in order to honor and remember their service.  

All are welcome to participate on Saturday, November 25, from 8 a.m. to 10 .m. at the Lakeview Cemetery on Main Street in New Canaan. Volunteers are asked to enter from Lakeview Avenue across from the Avalon apartments where they will find the VFW tent and ample parking off to the right in the large gravel area. The annual effort is supported financially by the New Canaan Exchange Club, which provides the wreaths at cost, money raised from poppy sales over Memorial Day weekend and private donations. Post 653 uses fundraising proceeds to pay for wreaths and flags that are laid during the Christmas season and on Memorial Day on all known veterans’ graves at Lakeview and other cemeteries in New Canaan.

Around Town

New Canaan’s VFW Post 653 To Mark Veterans Day on Friday

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At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, New Canaan’s VFW Post 653, officially known as Howard M. Bossa and Peter C. Langenus Post 653 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, will lead the annual Veterans Day ceremony to honor and commemorate the service of military veterans at the Wayside Cross and the bottom of God’s Acre. 

Veterans Day is distinct from Memorial Day in May which honors those who died while serving in the military. The date and time of the commemoration of Veterans Day link back to Armistice Day, which marked the end of World War I.  To honor those who served, New Canaan’s VFW Post placed 600 flags on God’s Acre just above the Wayside Cross on Saturday, November 6th, with the assistance of boy scouts from BSA Troop 45. This year’s Veterans Day ceremony will include comments from Ms. Caroline Sparico, Vice Regent of the Hannah Benedict Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and our guest speaker, Col Jeffrey Erickson, the Director of the Army Cyber Institute at the United States Military Academy (USMA) located at West Point. Col. Erickson will provide remarks on the importance of Veterans Day in linking past generations with future Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines.

Around Town

Notice: VFW Plans Memorial Day Parade and Ceremony [UPDATED]

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[Note: This article has been updated with new information regarding the parade and fundraising efforts of the local VFW.]

The Town of New Canaan and the Howard M. Bossa and Peter C. Langenus Post 653 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States are pleased to announce plans for a traditional New Canaan Memorial Day Parade on Monday, May 30th, and Memorial Day Ceremony following the parade at Lakeview Cemetery. Each year we gather to remember with gratitude and honor the proud men and women who gave their lives while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces to protect and preserve a life of freedom for all Americans. All residents are invited to attend the parade and ceremony. This year’s parade will begin at 9:30 a.m. at St. Mark’s Church on Oenoke Ridge Road and returns to its former route on lower Main Street.

News

Op-Ed: VFW Post 653 Celebrates 100th Anniversary

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On a cold night in late February 1921, a handful of young veterans of World War I met in New Canaan Town Hall to organize their newly chartered Veterans of Foreign Wars post. At the time, it was one of the earliest Posts in Connecticut. 

A century later, the post, now known as the Howard M. Bossa and Peter C. Langenus Post 653, remains active in promoting and organizing civic and patriotic programs for New Canaan, including organizing and leading the annual Memorial Day Parade and ceremony at Lakeview, Veteran’s Day services at the Wayside Cross on God’s Acre and the placing of flags and wreaths on the almost 1,200 graves of veterans in New Canaan’s many cemeteries. 

Today, the post is led by Francis “Mike” McGlinn as commander. Serving with him are Russ Kimes, senior vice commander, John McLane, quartermaster, Aaron Hall, junior vice commander, Brian Vanderheyden, chaplin, and four trustees, Leon Krolikowski, Frank Gallo, John Calitiri, and Paul Sedlak. The post meets at the Masonic Lodge at 231 Main St. on the second Tuesday of each month.