Veterans Ceremony Set In Lower Makefield (ICYMI)

LOWER MAKEFIELD TOWNSHIP, PA — Lower Makefield Township will be hosting its annual celebration of veterans this year, even if it will look a little different than usual.

A hybrid commemorative ceremony is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 7, at the Veterans Square monument in Lower Makefield. The ceremony may be attended in person or viewed virtually online.

Even though this year's Veterans Day parade was canceled in Lower Makefield, organizers said they felt it was important to offer something to celebrate vets.

"The hybrid model allows people to watch the ceremony at their own comfort level and in their own time," township officials said in a news release.

The ceremony may be watched remotely via:

• Verizon Channel 20 or Comcast Channel 22 in Lower Makefield
• LMT's Facebook page
• LMT's YouTube channel
• Lower Makefield's website

In lieu of a parade marshal, a special veteran nominee is being named in 2020. And, for the first time in 14 years, it is a woman — U.S. Army Lt. Ann Martin.

Martin was born in Cape Town, South Africa, then moved as a young child to Denmark, England, Germany and on to San Juan, Puerto Rico, where at the age of eight, she became a naturalized United States citizen. When she was 13, Martin moved to Ewing, N.J. and later to Bucks County where she graduated Pennsbury High School and went on to receive her bachelor's degree in nursing at Temple University.

A few years later, Martin enlisted in the army and attended officer training. She was assigned to the 7th Medical Command and deployed to Berlin. With her language skills and international background, Martin was recruited by the NSA and worked as a counterintelligence operative where she passed through Checkpoint Charlie daily for a year.

She worked at the East Berlin Medic Hospital and acquired information on missing people, which was critical to U.S. listening stations, defense, and diplomatic operations. She was able to fool the Stasi, the secret police of the East German Republic, during Cold War operations.

Martin completed her army career at Walter Reed Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland, and Fort Dix, N.J. and was medically discharged from the U.S. Army in 1991. She lives in Lower Makefield and is the mother of two daughters and three grandchildren.

U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, state Sen. Steve Santarsiero and State Rep. Perry Warren are scheduled to attend the ceremony. Music will be provided by a soloist from Pennsbury High School, and the ceremony will conclude with a wreath-laying ceremony conducted by VFW Post 6393 and American Legion Post 317.

Anyone who would like a veteran to be honored at the Veteran Square monument may submit his or her name by visiting the Veterans Square website or calling 267-274-1195. The monument currently includes the names of more than 800 veterans who lived in Lower Makefield or Yardley at some point in their lives.

Donations, including buying a paver at the monument, may be made at the same contacts.