The 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month

MILFORD — Veterans Day originally commemorated the end of World War I and was called Armistice Day or Remembrance Day in Europe. Today it has come to honor all military veterans. On Wednesday morning, it was a mild fall day—just the perfect kind of weather for the memorial service at the Veterans Monument on Broad Street. There were some 25 to 30 veterans from the various branches of the military joining others who attended the service. Jim Slevin the Commandant of the Tri-State Marine Corps League detachment was in charge of the event. He detailed a former Navy Corpsman, Dave Forsyth, who was assigned to the Marines, to tell the Courier of his role during the Vietnam War. He served in the military in 1968 and 1969. As a corpsman he was responsible for going out on the field of battle and bringing back wounded soldiers even though the battle was still going on. He said he had to do this too many times and still has memories of those tough years. “Fortunately in my company I never lost a soldier. I don’t know what happened to them afterwards but when I got them on the chopper they were still alive and breathing,” said Forsyth. He was also lucky when wounded. Forsyth was injured by a rocket propelled grenade (RPG). It hit the sandy soil a few feet from where he was standing. “The fact it was sandy soil may have saved me from more serious injuries. I got shrapnel in my leg but otherwise, I was okay.”