A bridge for Private Ermak

The kids and I spent some time this morning at the intersection of Depot, Ferry and Maple Streets, a place that was known as Ermak Square until road improvements made it no longer a square.

The town, however, has not forgotten Pvt. Walter Ermak, a Grafton resident who served in the Army during World War I before returning home due to tuberculosis.

When the state’s road improvements essentially eliminated Ermak’s square in 2005, town veterans appealed to state Rep. George Peterson, who created legislation to have the new bridge named for Ermak.

Peterson, himself a veteran, spoke at today’s re-dedication.

“It was supposed to be the war that ended all wars,” he said of World War I. Veterans Day marks the anniversary of the war’s end, on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. “Sad, we know that is not true.”

Making one of his first official appearances as the state senator-elect, Michael Moore recalled that his father was a veteran and praised the efforts of soldiers in wars past.

“Without them, we would not have had the historic election that we had last Tuesday,” Moore said, referring to the election of Democrat Barak Obama, who will be the first African-American president.

I regret that this event was so hard to photograph properly — it really was one of those times when you had to throw yourself to the ground to get proper angles.

There was a decent-sized crowd however, especially for such a brief event.

Afterwards, they all retired to the Legion hall for coffee, hot chocolate or “something a little stronger,” as a speaker joked.

Who could hold that against them? It’s Veterans Day. They deserve to celebrate it.