ATTLEBORO — Veterans Day was blustery in South Attleboro Veterans Memorial Park and it kept the flags flapping. Members of the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts had to hang on to the flag poles in the Veterans Pavilion so they wouldn’t topple. A Girl Scout led the crowd of 50 or so in the Pledge of Allegiance and Chaplain Don Vandal opened and closed the ceremonies with a prayer.
Joseph Cooper, a U.S. Army infantry member who served in Afghanistan and then eight years in the U.
S. Air Force, gave the keynote address. Cooper, who joined after the Sept.
11, 2001 terrorist attacks, came back alive and intact. “I am deeply grateful to be here today,” he said. “Some have gone home to cheers and parades and some came home to quieter welcomes.
" Cooper said Monday was a day to honor all veterans, whether they served in times of war or peace. “Each veteran deserves our unwavering support,” he said. “May we never take for granted the freedom we enjoy and remember that freedom comes at a cost.
” Mayor Cathleen DeSimone praised the veterans for their “grit, integrity, loyalty, courage and respect.” “Let’s thank veterans by being better leaders and following the great example they set for the rest of us,” she said. DeSimone encouraged civilians to “get in the fray, get in the fight.
” “Do something for someone else like the veterans,” she said. City Councilor Ty Waterman touched on the hidden wounds, veterans often bring home, including Post Traumatic Stress Diso.
