RUMFORD – While veterans of past wars were honored Saturday morning, future veterans were being remembered as well.

“There are new veterans being made today in far away places,” Ron Theriault told the 200 or so veterans and community members who turned out Saturday in the auditorium of Mountain Valley High School. “These brave men and women are the wall between us and the ‘isms.’ “

“We’re very fortunate to have this number of veterans in the community. You fought, you came home, and for that we are very thankful,” he said.

Theriault served as emcee of the morning Veterans Day service that featured a short talk by Rep. John Patrick, D-Rumford, who chairs the state’s Legal and Veterans Affairs Committee, patriotic music sung by the Rumford Association for the Advancement of the Performing Arts (RAAPA), and a new patriotic song performed by several of MVHS music teacher Mike Prescott’s music students.

“We wanted to capture the meaning of this day through song,” Prescott said prior to the performance by Aaron Cayer, Denise Belanger, Evan Belanger, John Descoteaux, Logan Dolloff, Nate Mills and Zach Bradley.

The song, “B-17,” was written by Curt Bessette, a friend of Prescott’s from New Hampshire.

It tells the story of a Lt. Sandy Sloane who was a bomber pilot in World War II. His navigator was Lt. James Leary of Portsmouth, N.H. The plane, named “Peg-O-My-Heart,” was named after the pilot’s wife. It was shot down over Germany.

Patrick told the veterans that he honored the individual and group sacrifices made by the servicemen and women.

“You are an example of strength, courage and patriotism. You inspire me in my service to the state,” he said of some of the steps taken to honor veterans. These include calling for POW/MIA flags to be flown over courthouses during certain days and creation of a Maine Women Veterans monument.

The annual Veterans Day ceremony is sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1641 and the Women’s Auxiliary. American Legion Post 24 sponsors the annual Memorial Day parade and service.

In addition to the high school ceremony, flags of remembrance were laid at the Rumford War Memorial at the rotary, the Mexico Greens and at the monument in Rumford Center.