NORWICH – Scores of Norwich City residents turned out to see the annual Veterans’ Day parade wind its way down East Main Street on Monday, and pay respects the country’s bravest during the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.

The parade – consisting of the Norwich City Police Department, Riders of the American Legion, the Norwich Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), several auxillary groups, boy scouts, girls scouts, cub scouts, city officials and the Norwich High School Marching Band – finished on the grounds of East Park where a ceremony was held to honor members of the armed forces past and present.

This year marks the 95th anniversary since the inception of Veterans’ Day – formerly known as Armistice Day, a tradition that started with the celebration of a peace agreement that ended World War I at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11, 1918.

In spite of Monday’s seasonably cool weather, observers huddled near the East Park stage and bore the bitter cold to solute those who have served over the course of the century. The ceremony opened with the National Anthem performed by the Norwich High School Choir, followed by invocation led by Ken Fallon, pastor of Crossroads Community Church of Sherburne.