ARUNDEL – Research shows that to those who have served in the military, yellow roses signify appreciation.

So, on Wednesday, as folks gathered at the Veterans Memorial on the grounds of the Arundel Fire Station to show their appreciation, it was fitting that there were yellow roses at the ready.

They were placed on the emblems of each of the branches of military service by Arundel Deputy Fire Chief Justin Cooper and Capt. Chris Aberle.

Velma Hayes, a selectwoman, and a director of the Arundel Historical Society, who led the remembrance ceremony, placed the last yellow rose on top of the memorial dedicated to those who served.

In pre-Covid times, schoolchildren usually take part, but while the ceremony was smaller this year than usual, with about a dozen gathered in the 70-degree sunshine, in a way it mirrored similar ceremonies all over the country, as people paused to thank veterans for their service.

It was a masked, socially-distanced event, with most of those attending dispersing soon after the conclusion.

Hayes read the history of the establishment of Armistice Day, which memorializes the end of World War I. Signed at 5:45 a.m. in France, it took effect at 11 a.m. that 11th day of November, the 11th month, in 1918. She read the World War I poem, “In Flanders Fields.”

Eight of the 4.7 million Americans who took part in World War I hailed from Arundel, called North Kennebunkport at the time, said Hayes.

Nearly 300 people who have called this area home served in various branches of the military over the years, Hayes said.

Perran Trentalange performed Taps.

The memorial, placed by the historical society, was dedicated in 2010. Its inscription reads:

“In honor of all Arundel veterans, from the country’s founding to the present, who have served their community and country to preserve our nation and rights as Americans.”

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