When he was growing up, Marion’s Michael Santos attended the town’s Memorial Day ceremonies. On Monday morning, the longtime U.S. Army veteran stood on the other side of the podium as he spoke about bravery and sacrifice before residents who gathered for the annual event.

“As a child you can’t comprehend how special today is,” said Lt. Colonel Santos, now retired after 20 years of military service.

Santos graduated from Old Rochester Regional High School in 1982 and went on to graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1987.

His career included stints in Operation Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Kosovo.

“Having served in the military my perspective is far different,” Santos said. The teachers and leaders he met during training and as an officer shared their experiences with him, he said.

“I heard stories of unbelievable sacrifice,” Santos said. “I wondered if when the time came I would be as brave.”

While some veterans are honored by having buildings or highways named after them, Santos said ceremonies such as Monday’s are just as meaningful.

“I think the most important tribute is what we are doing today – remembering that they fought for something bigger themselves without expecting anything in return,” he said.

Santos asked the audience to remember their sacrifice.

“Keep one thought as you leave here today,” he said. “We are not only the land of the free and the home of the brave, as the national anthem reminds us, we are the land of the free because of the brave.”

Every year members of the Benjamin D. Cushing VFW Post 2425 host the ceremony and parade that starts at the Civil War memorial in front of the Music Hall.

Opening observances included the singing of the National Anthem by ORR student Sara Achorn and the reading of the Gettysburg Address by ORR student Ian MacLellan.

After that ceremony, Selectmen led a parade that stopped at the Town House and Old Landing Cemetery. Other marchers included members of VFW Post 2425, the Sippican School Marching Band, Scouts and the Portuguese American Band.

At the Town House, VFW Post 2425 Chaplain Joseph Napoli read the names of 11 veterans who passed away since last year’s Memorial Day services. Selectmen Chair Stephen Cushing, an army veteran himself, read “The Ultimate Sacrifice,” a poem by Joanna Fuchs in honor of Memorial Day.

Post members performed a memorial ritual at each location the parade visited. The ritual includes the placement of an American flag, wreath and flowers. Taps was played at the end of each ceremony.