Veterans Day Ceremony Will be Virtual

Marc Silvestri, director of veterans services for the City of Revere, has announced plans for the observance of Veterans Day (Nov. 11) in the city, stating that the annual ceremony will be a virtual one due to the coronavirus.

The ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. on Veterans Day.

“We’ll be holding a Virtual Town Hall where some other veterans and I will be speaking about our experiences in military service,” said Silvestri. “I’m going to try and get as many eras covered as I can.”

Silvestri, a highly decorated United States Army veteran who received the Bronze Star in Valor medal, will ask his fellow veterans to talk about their experiences in service and “what it was like when they returned home.”

“This is an old Native American tradition,” related Silvestri. “When the warriors in the Indian tribe used to go to war, immediately upon their return, they would sit down with the whole village and share their stories. Instead of holding the burden of war upon themselves, it was spread across the tribe. That’s where the veterans town hall comes from.”

Silvestri said he spoke at a Veterans Day Town Hall on the North Shore a few years ago as a guest of Congressman Seth Moulton, who is also a decorated war veteran.

“It’s a tradition that I’d like to bring here and there’s no better year than now.”

Mayor Brian Arrigo will also deliver remarks at the ceremony. Ward 2 Councillor Ira Noveselsky, Past Commander of the Jewish War Veterans of Massachusetts, will also speak during the ceremony.

Novoselsky, who co-chairs the Revere Veterans Dinner Committee with Al Terminiello Jr. said the annual Veterans Day Dinner Dance at the Beachmont V.F.W. has been canceled due to the coronavirus. The event has been held annually for the past 16 years.

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