James Namnoum, the chaplain for the Veterans of Foreign Wars New Haven chapter, recited a hymn at New Haven City Hall, as his voice echoed.
“Protect the ones we love at home, provide that they should always be by thy own Grace both safe and free,” Namnoum said.
The hymn, originally meant for Marines and Sailors overseas, can also apply to veterans like Bridgette Prince, who served in the U.S. Army during the 1980s.
“I am very glad I had that experience, because right now, at this point, even fighting for the victims that are north in Hartford with the sewage overflows. It was political,” Prince said.
Prince took those lessons to heart after she was discharged due to a disability, becoming an advocate for veterans in Connecticut and for her neighbors in the Hartford area.
She attended the annual Veterans Day commemoration , where she watched elected officials, and veterans speak about veterans who serve and continue to serve, long after they’ve been discharged, veterans like Prince, who continue to advocate for their communities.
These events are more needed than ever, especially when Americans are now much more politically divided, Prince said.
New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker, who spoke at the ceremony, delivered a similar message.
“Our nation has been founded on a common belief that even though we are individuals, we can work as one. In fact, it is because we are individuals with differences that we are better as one,” Elicker said.
Elicker’s call for people to live up unifying ideals, spoken after a divisive presidential election, also included pleas to reject misinformation, and to listen to differing political views.
Democratic State Sen. Gary Winfield, who represents Connecticut's 10th District of New Haven and West Haven, served in the U.S. Navy. He said he didn’t join out of patriotism, but to improve his circumstances.
But the experience changed him, and he says public trust in the military, now one of the few institutions still trusted by a majority of Americans, embodies those unifying ideals.
“They are protecting not just the land itself, but an ideal that's beyond the land and the people, an ideal that in this place that we exist, it is possible to be fully recognized as human, no matter what race or creed you come from,” Winfield said.
Prince joined the army in 1982 at the age of 17, during the Cold War.
She saw the impact domestic politics could have on the military, down to the types of decisions commanders were able to make.
“That's where the decisions are made. You see who's talking about what's happening in other regions and other countries around the world,” Prince said. “It is always a politician.”
The experience became helpful to her as she later became an advocate for Hartford residents, veterans and became the co-chair of the veterans caucus for the state Democratic Party.
Those same interpersonal skills she picked up in the military became valuable later on, when it came to enlisting allies.
Prince advocated for Hartford area residents in the city’s North End who struggled with sewage issues.
“When I needed to go get support and get an ally, I went to Sen. Richard Blumenthal,” Prince said. "And thankfully, we were able to accomplish some things and get some services for the people.”
She is also frustrated by the struggles many veterans in Connecticut face, even as the state has worked to address those issues, from homelessness to medical care.
Prince wants more affordable housing built that would benefit veterans and sometimes bristles at hearing people who thank her for her service, saying it can sometimes feel hollow.
Being a veteran is an important part of her identity, and for Prince, it also means serving her neighbors.
“This is the status that you don't lose and and like I said, I want to be a veteran that continues to make a difference in my community and definitely in my country," Prince said.
