Vermont Remembers

On April 12, 1861, President Lincoln asked Governor Erastus Fairbanks, “What can we expect of Vermont?” and Fairbanks replied, “Vermont will do its full duty.” Vermont continued that service during the Global War on Terrorism after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, when the United States led a coalition campaign against international terrorism. The Vermont National Guard and Air Guard, along with Vermonters in other branches of service, supported Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, which began in early October 2001 against the Taliban regime and its al-Qaeda allies, and Operation Iraqi Freedom, which began with the invasion of Iraq in March 2003. The United States assembled a coalition of about sixty nations that contributed more than 150,000 ground troops, and forty-two servicemen with Vermont connections lost their lives in these wars.

Bennington, Vermont · United States