Jaffrey veterans marched down Main Street Thursday, to a clapping crowd thanking them for their service in honor of Veterans Day.
The annual parade was followed by a short ceremony on the Town Common. Air Force veteran and trustee at Cathedral of the Pines in Rindge Don Upton was selected as this year’s speaker.
“Thank you for inviting me to make a few comments on this Veterans Day, when we celebrate the service of all U.S. military veterans,” Upton said to welcome to the crowd.
Upton served as a radio operator, and was activated during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He recalled the tension of the time.
“The Cuban Missile Crisis, in October of 1962, was a very dangerous time,” Upton said. “[Soviet Premier] Nikita Khrushchev and the KGB were installing missiles in Cuba, only 90 miles from the U.S. southern coast. During the many weeks of negotiations between Khrushchev and President John F. Kennedy, I was preparing to fly to Florida with the 94th Troop Carrier Wing, out of Hanscom Field in Massachusetts.”
Luckily, he said, the crisis ended when Khrushchev agreed to dismantle the Soviet missiles and remove them from Cuba.
“The Air Force taught me discipline and organizational skills, and it has carried me through my life,” Upton said. “The Air Force showed me the value of service, not just to our country, but to my community as well, and led to a 25-year association with the Cathedral of the Pines.”
Upton joined the military following in the footsteps of two of his brothers. One of his brothers served on a Navy oil tanker as a gunner’s mate for four years during World War II, while the other was a member of the Coast Guard during the 1950s.
“Our family was fortunate that they both returned home and led productive lives,” Upton said, noting that not every family was so lucky. The Cathedral of the Pines is a memorial to one such local veteran, Sandy Sloane, who died in World War II when his plane was shot down. He encouraged those who attended Thursday’s ceremony to visit the cathedral and its museum, which details the accomplishments of several local veterans.
Thursday’s ceremony also included laying a flowered wreath at the site of Jaffrey’s World War I memorial. World War II veteran Joe Manning and Nelson Letourneau, a veteran of the Korean War, shared the honor of laying the wreath.
Conant High School student Jenna Harvey sang the national anthem before the conclusion of the ceremony, and the parade returned down Main Street.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.