WATERVILLE — Donald H. Marden, a U.S. Army veteran and retired major general in the Maine Army National Guard, said it was an honor to be asked to speak Monday about the importance of Veterans Day.

Donald H. Marden, left, a U.S. Army veteran, retired major general in the Maine Army National Guard, former Superior Court justice and Waterville mayor and the current first vice commander of Bourque-Lanigan American Legion Post No. 5 in Waterville, speaks Monday on the steps of Waterville City Hall. Behind him is Craig Bailey, the commander at Bourque-Lanigan American Legion Post No. 5. Amy Calder/Morning Sentinel

“It is more than just a holiday,” he said.

Marden said the nation must show appreciation to veterans. Young people, he said, will likely be more willing to serve based on how veterans are treated, appreciated and not forgotten.

Marden, 87, of Belgrade spoke Monday to more than 200 area residents, veterans and others who gathered at Castonguay Square in downtown Waterville following the annual Veterans Day parade organized by the Bourque-Lanigan American Legion Post No. 5. A federal holiday observed Nov. 11 honors those who served in the military.

Marden, the first vice commander of the local Legion, a former Waterville mayor and a Superior Court justice for 25 years, honored veterans, saying they have played important roles in defining the country and developing the city.

Marden said one of the more meaningful roles the Legion plays is placing flags on veterans’ graves for Memorial Day at Pine Grove and St. Francis cemeteries on Grove Street. He said he likes to start doing so in the oldest section of Pine Grove, which was established in 1852 on the site of an old horse trotting track owned by Charles Nelson. The remains of those buried in another city cemetery were dug up and interred at Pine Grove, a cemetery that Marden said is significant to many veterans.

He said 500 veterans of all wars are buried there, including nine from the Revolutionary War, 204 from the Civil War, 135 from World War I, 136 from World War II, and others from the War of 1812, Korean War, Vietnam War and Spanish-American War.

One of the graves is that of Francis Haskell, who received the Congressional Medal of Honor. Born in Benton in 1843, Haskell entered the U.S. Army and became a sergeant major in the 3rd Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for an act of heroism June 1, 1862, at Fair Oaks, Virginia.

In 1902, when Waterville celebrated its 100th anniversary, much was written about the military history of the city, according to Marden. It included information about veterans whose names are reflected in street names, such as Cool, Redington, Getchell and Boutelle. Many veterans settled in Waterville after they served.

Scouts march Monday in the Veterans Day parade on Main Street in downtown Waterville. Amy Calder/Morning Sentinel

John Cool of Winslow served in the Continental Army and spent January 1778 at Valley Forge in Pennsylvania. He moved to Waterville in 1780 and lived on what is now Cool Street.

Asa Redington also served in the American Revolutionary War, and at its end was one of only a few Americans to serve in the Commander-in-Chief’s Guard, an elite unit responsible for protecting Gen. George Washington and his family, including guiding them to Mount Vernon in Virginia, where Washington established a farm.

Washington discharged the Commander-in-Chief’s Guard to go to West Point, with members asking Washington if they could use horses.

“No, I need them (horses) for the farm, but you can keep the muskets,” Washington reportedly said, “and they, of course, were very, very important to them.”

Members of the Commander-in-Chief’s Guard walked 300 miles from Virginia to West Point in 1783 and then another 250 miles to Massachusetts.

Redington moved to Vassalboro in 1784 and in 1792, to Waterville where the Redington home on Silver Street was built. The house is now home to the Redington Museum and Waterville Historical Society.

“So, we talk a lot about the Revolutionary War, and the soldiers had to walk everywhere, and that was just what they put up with,” Marden said.

Marden was introduced Monday on the steps of City Hall by Craig Bailey, commander of Post No. 5, whose daughter, Abby Stevens, sang the national anthem.

Under sunny skies and in a cool breeze, the parade began at 11 a.m. at The Elm at 21 College Ave. It proceeded south on Main Street, before stopping at Castonguay Square in downtown Waterville.

Dozens of people lined the sidewalks. Longtime Waterville resident Patrick Roy, a U.S. Army veteran, carried his self-published book, “Memories in my Everyday Life,” which tells the story of his service during the Vietnam War years.

Waterville Mayor Mike Morris stands Monday with the Waterville Senior High School band at Castonguay Square in downtown Waterville after marching with the band in the Veterans Day parade. Amy Calder/Morning Sentinel

Roy, 77, said he was in the 3rd Armored Division and served in Freiburg, West Germany, beginning in 1965. When he arrived, he drove a 12-ton truck carrying the brigade commander, he said.

Roy, who was born at Seton Hospital in Waterville, said he never misses a Veterans Day parade because the holiday is important.

“It means a lot,” he said. “That’s why I’m down here.”

The parade included veterans, Waterville Mayor Mike Morris, police officers, firefighters, Scouts, the Waterville Senior High School band and representatives of Corpus Christi Parish and the Maine Army National Guard.