A crowd of several dozen people braved temperatures in the 20s Saturday morning to honor the nation's veterans in Burlington's Battery Park.

Speakers at the annual Veterans Day commemoration included Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger; Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.; Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt.; and John Goodrow from the office of Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.

They reminded the audience that only about 7 percent of the population serves in America's armed forces and are owed a debt of gratitude for protecting the nation.

Sanders said veterans who are willing to sacrifice their lives for the country must be taken care of when they return from wars overseas, including receiving health care and housing, and that no veteran should be sleeping on the street.

Weinberger accepted a flag flown into battle in Mosul, Iraq, from Vermont National Guard F-16 pilot Maj. Phil "Catfish" Francis. Weinberger stressed the close relationship Burlington has always had with the Vermont National Guard and its veterans, who have been deployed repeatedly to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan since the early 2000s.

The celebration ended on a poignant note, as Larry Solt, who will be the new director of the Burlington Concert Band, played Taps on a trumpet.