PAUL SQUIRE PHOTO | Local veterans were honored at Riverhead’s annual Veterans Day ceremony Sunday morning.

The United States owes its freedom to veterans, said Riverhead Town Councilman John Dunleavy, the guest speaker at Riverhead’s annual Veterans Day ceremony Sunday morning.

“We salute all the patriot men and women, our vets, who have stepped forward in steadfast defense of all of us,” Mr. Dunleavy, a U.S. Navy veteran, said.

Dozens of veterans and citizens attended the ceremony held at the World War I memorial near the Suffolk County Historical Society. Representatives from the Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Riverhead held flags and fired volleys during the event, as cub scouts with Pack 404 stood at attention.

Mr. Dunleavy said that while it is important to remember veterans on Veterans Day, residents should honor their local heroes throughout the year.

“You have to support them all the time,” he said. “This should be an ongoing thing that we should celebrate our veterans.”

PAUL SQUIRE PHOTO | A veteran salutes during the wreath-laying ceremony Sunday morning.