Memorial Day Addison Independent • May 26, 2016 Red, white and blue MEMBERS OF THE Middlebury Rotary Club are preparing for the first of five flag raisings posted on patriotic holidays each year. Shown here at a recent work day are, from left, Tim Hollander, Scott Needham, Liz Smith, Eric Denu, Helmut Hietzker, Ron Hadley and Logan Price. See story on Page 3. Photo by Max Kraus
U.S. serviceman with Austrian roots to deliver memorial address By EVAN JOHNSON VERGENNES — George Jaeger’s service to his country started when he was 18, operating a mortar during World War II. It would later include acting as an interpreter in a war crimes investigation team as the horrors of the Holocaust were made visible to the world and for, 35 years, working in the U.S. Foreign Service. Next Monday, Jaeger plans to draw on these experiences in a keynote speech at the Memorial Day Parade and Observance in Vergennes. Born in Vienna, Austria, in 1926, the early rumblings of nationalism in Germany were of little concern until the German annexation of Austria in 1938. The son of a Catholic mother and Jewish father, Jaeger witnessed the aftermath of the Kristallnacht, the “Night of the Broken Glass,” when paramilitary forces and gangs looted and burned Jewish neighborhoods, synagogues and businesses. The event is referred to by some historians as the start of the Holocaust. With the help of a Quaker organization in England, Jaeger left Austria. He still remembers the moment he and a car of other children fleeing the Nazis arrived at the border with (See Jaeger, Page 2)
Local Legions organize activities to remember County posts plan parades, speeches and more ADDISON COUNTY — The three President Laurie Patton will deliver the address. American Legion posts in Addison County To participate in the parade, call Post 27 will each host parades on Memorial Day. at 388-9311 and let them know what type of Middlebury American entry you have (walkers, float, Legion Post 27 will once again The parade etc.), number of participants conduct the first Memorial Day concludes at the and what your entry represents. parade of the morning. This meet in the Middlebury Soldiers’ Monument Then year’s parade, under the theme College parking lot off of “Honoring our Heroes,” will at the top of Field House Road at 8 a.m. on step off from the parking lot Merchants Row, parade day. behind the Middlebury College where there will be Participants are asked to keep arts center at 9 a.m. in mind the intent of the parade, a short ceremony Marchers will follow their honoring fallen which is to pay tribute to those traditional route north on Main that have fought for this great Street, around the green onto servicemen and nation. No political signs or Pleasant Street in front of the women and those banners will be permitted. Congregational Church of still serving. VERGENNES Middlebury and in front of the Vermont’s largest Memorial Middlebury Inn. The parade concludes at the Day parade is hosted by American Legion Soldiers’ Monument at the top of Merchants Post 14 in Vergennes. The parade marshal this Row, where there will be a short ceremony year is Lesley Urban, retired sergeant major in honoring fallen servicemen and women the Vermont Air National Guard, and the main (See Parades, Page 9) and those still serving. Middlebury College
Commemorative events offered at historic fort TICONDEROGA, N.Y. — Join Fort Ticonderoga on Memorial Day weekend, May 28-30, to salute the service of the armed forces of the United States on the very grounds where so many American soldiers fought and sacrificed. Parade into Fort Ticonderoga behind the Fife and Drum Corps during a special program on Memorial Day at 11 a.m., and step back in time to meet the soldiers of the American Revolution. Experience all aspects of the life of the Continental Army soldier in 1776, from their weapons to their rations, and learn about what they believed would come from their sacrifice in the name of liberty. Construction of soldier’s huts will be led by museum staff throughout the weekend, continuing Fort Ticonderoga’s project in experimental archaeology to recreate houses and huts built by Pennsylvania soldiers at Ticonderoga in 1776. “Spend the day at Fort Ticonderoga this Memorial Day weekend,” said Beth Hill,
Fort Ticonderoga president and CEO. “See Fort Ticonderoga at the beginning of the American Revolution in 1776; a hive of activity as citizens turned soldiers as they build extensive lines of defenses across the Ticonderoga peninsula and beyond to try to secure to secure this vital stronghold from the British. Throughout the weekend, visitors will witness the labor of liberty as soldiers from the Continental Army bring to life this defining story through military drill, historic trades, and fatigue duties such as carpentry.” A full line-up of programs offered throughout the weekend include cannon and musket demonstrations; daily tours in the fort, King’s Garden, and exhibition spaces; historic trades programs; Vessel Carillon boat tours on Lake Champlain; and the Mount Defiance experience. Fort Ticonderoga’s Battlefield Hiking Trail and canoe rentals on Lake Champlain will also be available beginning Memo(See Fort Ticonderoga, Page 5)