The annual Veterans Day ceremony held at Ocean View cemetery will take place this Friday, Nov. 11 at 11 a.m. The World War I monument in the cemetery has been the site of the solemn ceremony since 1919. The commemoration was originally sponsored by a group of WWI veterans known as the Staten Island Barracks. The observance traditionally is held on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month at Ocean View Cemetery.
As these servicemen aged, the Veterans of Foreign Wars took charge of running the ceremony. In 2014, that responsibility fell to the United Staten Island Veterans Organization (USIVO), who currently sponsors the annual commemoration as well as Staten Island’s annual Memorial Day Parade.
This historic day was originally dubbed Armistice Day by President Woodrow Wilson in 1919. Following the urging of WWI, WWII and Korean War veterans in 1954, the 38th Congress designated Veterans Day in its place.
This year, jurist Joseph J. Maltese, will deliver the keynote address. Appointed to the Supreme Court, Appellate Division by Governor Andrew Cuomo in 2014, he served on the court until December, 2020. Before this undertaking, he served on both the NY City Criminal Court and the NY City Civil Court from 1992-1996. Judge Maltese is a retired member of the US Army Reserve who served for 30 years in active and reserve roles. He was an officer in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps, retiring as a Colonel and later as a Brigadier General commanding the NY State Civil Affairs Brigade.
At the conclusion of the observance, the USIVO will make its way to New York City’s only African-American cemetery, Frederic Douglass Memorial Park. Here they will pay respects to fellow veteran and member of the Richmond District 369th Veterans Association, Leon J. Wallace.
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