“It is the veterans, not the politicians who give us our freedom,” Hoffman said. “The true heroes are not the quarterbacks who successfully execute a Hail Mary pass or the baseball player who hits a home run. It isn’t the Hollywood actor who looks good dodging imaginary bullets and fake explosions. It is the military veteran, the police officer, the firefighter and others who risk — and far too often lose — their lives protecting and defending all of us.”

Across Lake Placid on Memorial Day, flags were lowered and raised in honor of a new group of local veterans. The lowered flags were folded and given to family members, who received them — some with stoicism, some with hugs. The group of people remembered on this day, Hoffman said, transcends labels and divisions in society.

“The heroes that we honor today are not exclusive to any gender, race or religion. They come from all economic classes and backgrounds. They hail from all 50 states, and some of them migrate from other countries,” he said. “They are a diverse group wedded in the belief that America is a nation worth dying for.”

Linda Jones received a flag that was lowered at the World War I memorial next to the Adirondack Community Church. Her husband, Robert Jones, served in the U.S. Army for a couple of years when he was in his 20s. He never ended up getting deployed, but trained in Michigan. Robert died a year ago, so this was a special way to remember him.

“It’s a wonderful honor, because they raise the flag, and this was his church,” Linda said. “He had a lot of friends. He did a lot of volunteer work in the community.”

Siblings Ron LeClair, Barbara LeClair and Janice Girard received a flag honoring their mother, Dorothy LeClair, whose flag was lowered at the Lake Placid Health Center. The only woman in this year’s rotation of honorees, LeClair served in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps from 1944 to 1945, just at the end of World War II.

Throughout the morning, flags were also lowered in honor of Larry Prager at Elderwood of Uihlein at Lake Placid; and Daniel Lundin, Benjamin Gadwaw and Donald Scammell at the American Legion. Then the flag at the North Elba Cemetery was lowered and raised, and the community convened for a parade.

The flags that were raised will fly until Veterans Day in November, when those flags will be presented to family members.

At the World War I memorial, a flag was raised for Tom Woodman. Outside Elderwood, a flag was raised for Larry Burdo. At the Lake Placid Health Center, a flag was raised for Robert Knox. Toward the end of the ceremony at the American Legion, flags were raised for Donald Dew, Thomas McConnell and Arthur Jubin.