A resident of the Rhode Island Veterans Home listens to Seth Fontenault of Smithfield read his winning Patriots Pen essay at a Veterans Day ceremony in Bristol. (Alexander Castro/Rhode Island Current)
Rhode Island Speaker of the House K. Joseph Shekarchi chose to forgo his notes at a Veterans Day ceremony Monday.
Speaking to a crowd of veterans, their families, and lawmakers and state officials at the Rhode Island Veterans Home in Bristol, Shekarchi opted for a three-minute speech that concluded with a quote he found particularly resonant.
“This is a quote I want to read very carefully, because I don’t want to mess it up,” Shekarchi said. “Coretta Scott King remarked that ‘Freedom is never really won. You earn it, and you win it in every generation.’ So today, let’s thank the generations of service members who answered the call to duty.”
Shekarchi joined a slate of elected officials — including Gov. Dan McKee, U.S. Sen. Jack Reed and U.S. Reps. Gabe Amo and Seth Magaziner — at the hour-long Veterans Day program. Leading the ceremonies was Kasim J. Yarn, the state’s director of Veterans Services.
“Veterans should know they’re not alone,” said Yarn, who served for 20 years in the Navy before retiring in 2016 to serve as Rhode Island’s first director of veterans affairs.
Yarn pointed to the need for adequate funding and legislative support for veterans.
Secretary of State Gregg Amore said the state is meeting that challenge.
“You can judge a society, a nation, a state, by how we take care of those who have borne the battle,” Amore said. “Rhode Islanders should be proud of how we meet that challenge for our veterans every single day.”
Seth Fontenault, a homeschool student from Smithfield, read his first-place essay from the annual Patriots’ Pen contest held by the Veterans of Foreign Wars Department of Rhode Island.
“America…inspires me to help other people and to make a difference in my nation,” Fontenault said. “It is a country where I can actually help make a change and be heard. When I am older I can vote to decide who gets elected as the president and other elected positions. I’m thankful I do not have to wait until I get older to make a difference though.”
Democratic lawmakers, including Sen. Linda Ujifusa and Reps. Susan Donovan of Bristol and Samuel Azzinaro of Westerly, who chairs the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, also attended. The 88th Army Band of the Rhode Island National Guard provided music.
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