Service members and families from the U.S. military community in Vicenza, Italy and a small delegation from Camp Darby attended a ceremony at the Florence American Cemetery and Memorial in Italy to commemorate Veterans Day 2011.
The ceremony, led by assistant cemetery superintendent Christine Young, began with the presentation of colors by a Naval JROTC detachment from Naples American High School (NAHS), led by retired Navy Lt. Rodney Light, the senior naval science instructor at NAHS.
After the playing of the Italian and U.S. national anthems, the cadet detachment commander read President Barack Obama’s Veterans Day proclamation and provided an address about the significance of the ceremony to honor the fallen service members. Four cadets placed wreaths for the Naval JROTC unit, the 34th Infantry Division and ABMC.
Later that day, active duty U.S. military members and veterans, that had served in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Balkans, formed a small version of Rolling Thunder and visited the cemetery on motorcycles to pay their respects.