By Jeremy Carroll
C & G Staff Writer

ROYAL OAK — For Richard and Miriam Melvin of Royal Oak, Veterans Day is always special.

“I was in World War II, and she was a nurse in the Army,” said Richard Melvin.

The two were among the more than 300 that gathered for the annual Veterans Day ceremony at the Veteran’s War Memorial in Royal Oak on Nov. 11.

“There’s always gratitude for the recognition,” Melvin said. “But I’m always thankful that I could serve.”

Miriam Melvin said that with her generation, they made a point of serving the country in any way they could.

“I stayed in the states, and we cared for soldiers coming back from the European theater; it just felt like my duty to do that,” she said. “Our generation seemed to want to serve.”

The ceremony, put on by the Royal Oak Memorial Society, honored all veterans. The society has been holding the event since the 1940s, said Carol Hennessey, the group’s president.

“This is my way of giving back to all of the veterans that gave so much for us,” she said.

Hennessey said she remembers when her uncle, an injured World War II veteran, took her to Veterans Day services.

“He started me at an early age, and I don’t think I’ve missed one since,” she said.

The ceremony included a placing of the wreaths; a 21-gun salute; the singing of the British, Canadian and American national anthems; songs from the St. Lutheran Children’s Choir; and a reading of the poem, “A Veteran Died Today,” by Aaron Bailey, a third-generation veteran who served in Afghanistan in 2007.

“It’s an honor to see a cross-section of our community come together to recognize the contributions that our veterans have made,” Bailey said.

A Royal Oak resident, Bailey is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, who serviced in a special operations task force in Afghanistan after being called back to active duty.

“I’m always honored to be here as we take time to honor those that have given the ultimate sacrifice to our country,” Mayor Jim Ellison said.

The ceremony was taped by WROK to be rebroadcast locally.