Pleas for don’t rain on my parade went ignored Monday, but it didn’t stop hundreds from lining King Street in paying tribute to St. Croix’s military veterans.
St. Croix honored its own on Veterans Day with a morning parade from Basin Triangle to Fort Christiansvaern.
Before Mother Nature poured down rain and largely cleared the fort’s grounds around 11 a.m., participation was heavy.
“Every year I come here and my heart feels a little weak because the participation is small,” American Legion Puerto Rico Commander Seeundino Roman-Cruz said. “Today I’m happy because I can see a big crowd.”
Among that crowd were the territory’s top government officials, including members of the legislature, Gov. John deJongh Jr., Lt. Gov. Gregory Francis and Delegate to Congress Donna Christensen.
When Brigadier General Elton Lewis, the assistant adjutant general for the V.I. National Guard, spoke at the podium, his directions were straight to the point of what the holiday is at heart.
“I ask that you join me in recognizing your fellow service members, both past and present, who have carried the fight to America’s adversaries and whom have shared the bond of service and sacrifice,” Lewis said. “Please know that I’m grateful and proud of you for your service to this great nation and for the sacrifice that you and your family made to ensure our freedom.”
Lewis continued as the rain began to come down, “You have secured for millions of others the blessings of freedom, democracy and the unmatched opportunities that we enjoy in the United States.”
“The territory is truly fortunate to have great service members that exemplify honor and commitment to duty,” he said. “I’m so very proud to stand with you in the ranks of our great army.”
Veterans Day was enacted during the presidency of Dwight Eisenhower. It coincides with Armistice Day, which is celebrated in other parts of the world to mark the anniversary of the end of World War I. It falls annually on Nov. 11 as major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918.
The rain turned really heavy and sent everyone scattering for cover as Christensen began her remarks.
“As I look at the presidential victory that we celebrated on Tuesday, we have to attribute it at least in part to the fact that our Virgin Islands’ veterans and other African Americans served at a time when the country did not afford them the freedoms they sought,” Christensen said.
She continued, adding that the territory needed to do more for its veterans. “In the Virgin Islands we’ve seen some improvements in the services offered to veterans. However, we still have far to go towards achieving full parity for our veterans and ensuring that they receive the acknowledgement, the gratitude and the benefits they deserve for their service to our great nation,” Christensen said.
With the crowd largely cleared out because of the rain, which was falling quite hard at the ceremony’s conclusion, deJongh kept his closing remarks brief.
“The best I can say this morning is thank you to this community for recognizing our veterans, for recognizing their families and for recognizing those who have served,” deJongh said. “Three years from now, we will be 100 years as a part of this country. We have an opportunity to show to these individuals how we care about them and what they’ve done.”
