Capt. Dana Simon, Commanding Officer of Naval Surface Warfare Center, Philadelphia Division (NSWCPD) joined the Veteran's Employee Resource Group (VERG) in honoring America’s Veterans during a virtual Veterans Day Ceremony on Nov. 9, 2020. Conducted in the historic atrium of Building Four, Simon placed a wreath to commemorate the men and women who have served our Nation as well as celebrated the Marine Corps 245th birthday.
During the online ceremony, Simon’s solemn address echoed a grateful nation’s appreciation of our veterans’ ongoing sacrifice, their achievements, courage and dedication to service.
“On Wednesday, we commemorate the end of World War I, the war to end all wars in 1918,” said Simon. “On the 11th hour of the 11 day of the 11th month, the nation will celebrate Veterans Day. We pay tribute to those who came before us, those who are present among us, and those who will rise after us.”
“Simply stated, we could not be the great country that we are today, without our veterans’ service,” added Simon. “Their courage, sense of duty, and patriotism will continue to inspire us as we aspire to maintain the standards they have set. It is with the humblest of gratitude I say to all of our veterans….Thank You For Your Service.”
VERG co-chairperson Alex Santos performed a passionate reading of Howard Schnauber’s poem “My Name is Old Glory,” which celebrates the resolute strength and resilient character of the American Flag.
NSWCPD concluded its Veterans Day ceremony with Simon and Santos laying a patriotic wreath in the atrium for employees to visit over the next several days.
Originally, Veterans Day was called Armistice Day to commemorate the end of World War One and became a federal holiday in 1938. After World War II and the Korean War, “Armistice” was replaced with “Veterans” in 1954 to honor American service members across all conflicts.
NSWCPD employs approximately 2,700 civilian engineers, scientists, technicians, and support personnel. The NSWCPD team does the research and development, test and evaluation, acquisition support, and in-service and logistics engineering for the non-nuclear machinery, ship machinery systems, and related equipment and material for Navy surface ships and submarines. NSWCPD is also the lead organization providing cybersecurity for all ship systems.
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