Parade, ceremony honor vets

The grand marshal comes from a family of military
veterans.

WARREN — The rains came just as the Veterans Day activities in Trumbull County began Monday morning, but it was a temporary inconvenience.

The hundreds of attendees moved across Mahoning Avenue from Monument Park to fill First Presbyterian Church for a dry and comfortable ceremony.

The parade that followed the ceremony took place under partly sunny skies with no rain. There were 53 units in the parade, including the Warren and Southington high school bands.

Though many of the units threw out candy, relatively few children lined the parade route downtown because they were in school.

Back at the church, Vietnam veteran Jim Rapone gave his perspective on military service, coming from a military family.

His father, Angelo Rapone, and three uncles served in the Army during World War II. He has two brothers who also served in the Army and two stepsons who served in the Navy.

He has a son on active duty in the Middle East right now.

With his family’s military tradition, it was no surprise that Rapone walked to the second floor of the Warren Post Office to sign up to join the Marine Corps on his 18th birthday in 1964.

“I have waited 61 years for this opportunity to stand here in my own hometown to speak to you,” Rapone said.

Rapone noted that veterans take an oath that binds them together: “I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic,” Rapone said.

“Today we honor more than 25 million living veterans who have taken that oath of service to protect and defend,” he said. “They have all earned the title American veteran.”

runyan@vindy.com