GOVERNOR O’MALLEY AND LT. GOVERNOR BROWN TO PARTICIPATE IN VETERANS DAY EVENTS

ANNAPOLIS, MD (November 10, 2011) – TOMORROW, Governor Martin O’Malley and Lt. Governor Anthony G. Brown will participate in events to honor our nation’s veterans.

Governor O’Malley will join veterans service organizations, families and friends at a ceremony held at the Crownsville Cemetery, which has occurred every year since the cemetery opened in 1980.

Lt. Governor Brown will join Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, other state and local officials and various veterans organizations for the Baltimore City Veterans Day Celebration Ceremony honoring veterans from all branches of the United States Armed Forces and recognizing the sacrifice of our citizens who have dedicated themselves to serving and protecting our country. The ceremony will be held in the War Memorial Plaza following the annual Veterans March, and will include a citywide moment of silence and ringing of the bells at 1100 hours to recognize the one moment at the 11th hour of the 11th day on the 11th month, on November 11, 1918, when the world agreed that World War I must be the War to End All Wars.

Lt. Governor Brown, a Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves and the nation’s highest-ranking elected official to have served a tour of duty in Iraq, leads the O’Malley-Brown Administration’s efforts to provide veterans with better services and resources. To view a video message from the Lt. Governor in honor of Veterans Day, click here.

Governor O’Malley and Lt. Governor Brown issued the following statements in honor of Veterans Day:

The Governor said, “On Veterans Day and every day, we remember not only this generation, but the many generations of men and women who have stepped up in the defense of our nation – especially those who have made the ultimate sacrifice so that we could live in peace, and be able to raise our children in a world which we hope is a more compassionate, more peaceful, more secure place.”

“Our American story has been written, edited and rewritten by the stories of veterans who have served our nation both in peacetime and in war. All Marylanders and all Americans are united today to say thank you for helping to write our story.” said Lt. Governor Brown. “And while we celebrate Veterans Day this week with parades and dinners and speeches, let us all make a commitment to celebrate and honor the service and sacrifice of our veterans each and every day of the year.”