Portsmouth to Commemorate Veterans Day on November 11 with Wreath Laying at Goodwin Park

Josh Denton, Commander of VFW Post 168, reports that Veterans Day will be commemorated in Portsmouth with a wreath-laying at the Soldiers & Sailors Monument in Goodwin Park on Friday, November 11, 2022 at 11 am. In case of rain, the event will move indoors to the Legion Post where a post-event gathering will take place for those unable to attend the outdoor ceremony.

Post Commander Denton announced that NH National Guard Commandant Major General David J. Mikolaities plans to speak at the ceremony. The commemoration includes a welcome by Mayor Deaglan McEachern, an invocation from Rev. Ellen Quaadgras from South Church, and the Portsmouth High School Clipper Band.

In addition, on Thursday, November 10, all Portsmouth veterans are invited to a free breakfast, 10 to 11:30 am at the Senior Activity Center at 125 Cottage Street. The Veterans Breakfast is an annual tradition in Portsmouth. To make a reservation (required) to attend the Veterans Breakfast, call 603.610.4433.

Veterans Day is observed at the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month, to mark the moment the armistice silenced the guns in 1918, ending World War I. Frank Booma of Portsmouth, for whom the Post is named, was killed in France in July 1918; and the Post was formed in 1919 by Portsmouth veterans of that war.