ST. ALBANS — Vermont’s U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders joined hundreds of people at Taylor Park in St. Albans on Thursday for a Veterans Day observance.
Flanked by local veterans and public officials on the city’s Civil War memorial, Sanders told the crowd it was important to remember not just the sacrifices that local veterans have made, but also the toll of the wars they’ve served in.
“Our job is to create a world where conflict can be resolved in ways other than killing people,” he said. “Today is a day of ‘thank you.’ It’s a day of memory.”
Sanders said his role as chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs from 2013 to 2015 is “perhaps the most honored position I have had” as a public official.
At the time, the senator played what many consider a key role in pushing the 2014 Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act through Congress following a scandal over long wait times in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ health care system.
The bill infused the federal agency with billions of dollars to expand care and oversight, though VTDigger has reported the law created new problems for veterans across the country while doing little to ease longstanding concerns inside the agency.
At the Thursday ceremony, Sanders said he would never forget meeting a World War II veteran in Randolph years ago who described the lasting impacts of trauma on his life, such as waking up every night thinking he was in hand-to-hand combat.
The senator said it was great to see so many young people at the ceremony to hear about the experiences of local veterans. He highlighted the service of St. Albans resident Bob Coon, who served in World War II and was seated on stage.
Coon was the grand marshal of a Veterans Day parade through the city that preceded the ceremony and ended at Taylor Park.
“I fear that throughout the country, there are not a lot of young people who understand the sacrifice and the role that people like Bob Coon played,” Sanders said.
St. Albans City Mayor Tim Smith and St. Albans Town Selectboard Chair Brendan Deso also spoke during the ceremony. Sanders said he was impressed with the turnout and the role that students played in the day’s events.
“This community does an extraordinary Veterans Day ceremony,” Sanders said. “I don’t know that there’s any other community in the state that brings out as many people.”
