FARMINGTON — The annual “Honoring a Veteran” ceremony on Saturday was a somber reminder that the men and women who have served their country must never be forgotten.

At the Farmington Baptist Church nearly 200 attendees came through the doors, many in uniform.

Presenter Lt. Col. (Ret.) Peter Ogden, who served two tours in Vietnam, is director of the Maine Bureau of Veterans Services and dedicates his energy to recognizing veterans and their families. He and co-presenter, Sen.-elect Tom Saviello, have made the Farmington ceremony a sacred ritual for the region’s veterans and family members who attend each year.

“The program honors those that have made the ultimate sacrifice by giving their lives in defense of freedom, those former prisoners of war and those still missing,” Saviello said.

The keynote speaker was Army Sgt. 1st Class John Maynard II, who has 18 years of active duty service and recently returned from Afghanistan.

“When I walk into a roomful of veterans like you, it’s like being a rookie quarterback going into a room full of Hall of Famers,” he said.

One of those men honored was World War II Army veteran Herman Redlevske from Mercer. He was 19 years old when he left New Sharon for training. He served in the 90th Infantry Division as one of the “Tough Ombres” in Company E.

After landing in Marseilles, France, in November 1944, his division crossed the Saar River, which runs through northeastern France and western Germany, and plunged into the Battle of the Bulge. The winter was no different than in his home state, he said, and he considers himself lucky to have survived.

“I remember following tank tracks in two feet of snow,” he said. “We’d dig a hole in the ground and put our tent into the bottom, and we’d crawl in and pull our coats over us for the night, while someone stood guard.”

Most of the battles and locations are a blur, because he spent months just putting one foot in front of the other, as did his fellow soldiers.

“I lost a lot of friends,” he said sadly. “I don’t know how many.”

The 90th continued across the Moselle, the Rhine, the Main and the Werra Rivers, arriving at the Czech border in April 1945, just before the war ended in May. He served as a guard at a prisoner-of-war camp for the remainder of his tour.

Since he and his fellow soldiers had almost no time for rest and recovery, he had little time to worry about anything but staying alive. Being away from home was probably the hardest part of the war, he said.

Fourteen members of his family came with him Saturday, and he got a standing ovation when Saviello presented him with medals he earned but never received.

The Gold Star Honorable Service commendations went to families of service members who died in combat after 2001.

The Silver Star Honorable Service commendations were given to former POWs and those who were wounded in action. The Bronze Star Honorable Service commendations were presented to family members for veterans who lost their lives in the line of duty. An Honorable Certificate was awarded to veterans for general service.

For more information about Maine Veterans Services, visit www.maine.gov/dvem/bvs. To contact Peter Ogden or the Augusta Veterans Service Office, call 626-4464 or e-mail [email protected].

To contact Jerry Smith at the Veterans Service Office in Lewiston, call 783-5306 or e-mail [email protected].