By Marci Shatzman
When PBSO Capt. David Moss discovered his second-in-command had a WWII veteran grandfather, he urged Lt. Jim DeFago to bring him to Palm Beach County’s annual Veterans Day Observance.
Turns out the senior Jim DeFago, 97, who served as a Navy Seabee, was the man of the hour at Saturday’s ceremony, held annually at the memorial and circle of military sculptures in west Boca’s Veterans Park.
It wasn’t planned. But when it was his turn to speak, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office West Boca District 7’s Commander Moss did a shoutout to DeFago, who got a big hand.
Veterans of wars from the Korean Conflict in the ‘50s, to Vietnam, Desert Storm, Iraq and Afghanistan stood to applause at the ceremony, held jointly by Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 10556 in that park, and Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation.
Post Commander Barry Goldin emceed the program that traditionally begins with a procession of color guards in uniform from the Marine Corps JROTC at Olympic Heights High School, Army JROTC at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Boca-Delray U.S. Naval Sea Cadets and Boca Raton Civil Air Patrol Composite Squadron.
Speakers kept it short, but made it clear the day was about thanking veterans for what Palm Beach County Mayor Gregg Weiss called “your legacy of preserving our liberty.”
“There is no boot camp for coming back home,” said Boca Raton District 4 County Commissioner Marci Woodward.
In August, county commissioners approved a new Veteran Services Advisory Board to consolidate services for Palm Beach County vets, Woodward announced. She urged veterans to apply and expects the new board to start meeting by January.
As a state senator, she introduced veterans’ preference legislation that passed, said county Vice Mayor Maria Sachs, whose District 5 includes the western suburbs in Boca Raton, Delray Beach and Boynton Beach. She especially thanked the Marines who train and place larger dogs in county care as service dogs for veterans.
The ceremony included patriotic bagpipe music, familiar patriotic songs and singalongs by Suzanne Geller-Wert, a wreath-laying, and prayers by the VFW post’s chaplain Richard Melohn.
A gunfire salute and taps were heard, both by PBSO’s Rifle Team & Bugler, to close the ceremony. Palm Beach Fire Rescue had a giant American flag flying from a ladder truck in the adjacent field, and the VFW post invited everyone back to their nearby post for a barbecue.