Hamtramck veterans still carry on the Veterans Day tradition

Veterans at PLAV Post 6 drink a champagne toast on Veterans Day in honor of all military veterans.

By Charles Sercombe
Veterans Day ceremonies in Hamtramck may be mere shadows of former years, but the spirit is still strong.
In recent years, the number of veterans who live here has taken a nosedive.
That’s because the bulk of them who once lived here have mostly either passed away, or moved away. And then the covid pandemic hit, which closed down many public gatherings.
At one time, there were thousands of veterans living in the city, representing a powerful voting bloc.
Like Veterans Day, Memorial Day here in the city isn’t recognized in the way it used to be.
Not too long ago, on Memorial Day, hundreds of people would gather in front of the Veterans Park monument where a lengthy ceremony would take place, ending with the laying of wreaths and the playing of taps.
In a number of ways, things have yet to return to normal. Many elderly veterans have yet to resume pre-pandemic levels of outside socializing.
For the remaining veterans, and their family members and friends, who do still go out, a small ceremony was held on Monday morning at PLAV Post 6 on Evaline and McDougall.
A short prayer was given, followed by a champagne toast exactly at 11:11 a.m. – representing the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month — the moment World War 1 officially came to an end in 1918.
(Peace negotiations had wrapped earlier in the day of Nov. 11, 1918, but it took hours to get the word out about the permanent halt to the hostilities. The war, which at the time was called The Great War, started in 1914 and during the four years of fighting 16.5 million people — both military and civilian — died.)
This wasn’t the last time America became enmeshed in war. Twenty years after World War 1, World War 2 broke out, and after that came the Korean War, followed by the Vietnam War in the 1960s, and then the Gulf War in 1990.
At Post 6, Korean Army veteran Eddie Banko went looking for a fellow Korean War vet.
Joe Faron, who was 18 at the time (1952) and in the Navy, answered the call.
Banko said to Faron: “It was the oldest place in the world. I was 17, what was I doing?”
Posted Nov. 15, 2024