The increasingly bitter cold could not keep Homer residents from getting out to honor their fellow countrymen on Veterans Day this past Saturday.

The federal holiday, originally Armistice Day, celebrates veterans of all wars. Time and usually a moment of silence is taken at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11, in remembrance of when the major hostilities of World War I were formally ended in 1918.

As usual, Homer saw the holiday through to the end with a parade starting at Homer High School, down Pioneer Avenue and Main Street, ending at the Oceans and Islands Center.

The parade was followed by a presentation in front of the center, during which Mike Morawitz, Paul Dauphinais and Eileen Faulkner of the American Legion Post 16 read a prayer and spoke about the importance of the day. This was followed by the playing of taps.

Reach Megan Pacer at megan.pacer@homernews.com.

Members of the Homer Elks Club walk in the Veterans Day Parade on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2017 on Main Street in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Megan Pacer/Homer News)