City Announces Veterans Day Observances on November 11, 2025

On Tuesday, November 11, 2025 at 11 am, Veterans Day will be commemorated in Portsmouth with a wreath-laying at the Soldiers & Sailors Monument in Goodwin Park. A post-event gathering will take place at the American Legion Post (96 Islington Street). In case of rain, the event will move indoors to the Legion.

The master of ceremonies will be Army veteran and Portsmouth Police Department Detective, Rochelle Jones. A Portsmouth native, Detective Rochelle Jones joined the Portsmouth Police Department as a full-time police officer in September 2002. She is also a veteran, having served on active duty in the U.S. Army Military Police Corps. Detective Jones has served many roles in Portsmouth, and currently is the community outreach coordinator, Mason the Comfort Dog’s handler, and department liaison to Senior Services.

The commemoration includes remarks by Mayor Deaglan McEachern, the invocation and benediction by Reverend Ellen Quaadgras of South Church, and music by the Portsmouth High School Clipper Band including the singing of the National Anthem by former Mayor Robert Lister.

The keynote speaker at the observance will be Navy veteran John Graning (TMCM SS USN Ret). Graning transitioned from Active Duty to Retired Veteran status in July of 2024.  This marked an extraordinary 30-year career in the United States Navy retiring as a Master Chief Torpedoman’s Mate. A seasoned submariner, he served as Chief of the Boat on both the USS New Hampshire and USS Hampton. He served aboard the USS Parche, USS Chicago, USS Dallas, USS Philadelphia and USS Pittsburgh.  He returned to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard as maintenance coordinator for the USS Cheyenne, forging deep and lasting bonds between the Shipyard, Sub Squadron Two, the Fleet, and the City of Portsmouth.  Throughout his career, Graning has shaped and mentored generations of submariners through the rigors and responsibilities of submarine service. Today, he carries that mission forward as the New England Workforce Lead for the Maritime Industrial Base where he works to raise awareness, facilitate relationships, and create opportunities for the future of the skilled trades in ship and submarine building and maintenance.  

Veterans Day is observed at the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month, to mark the moment the armistice silenced the guns in 1918 and ended World War I. Frank Booma of Portsmouth, for whom the American Legion Post is named, was killed in France in July 1918; and the Post was formed in 1919 by Portsmouth veterans of that war.

In observance of Veterans Day, City of Portsmouth offices, Recreation Department facilities, and the Portsmouth Public Library will be closed on November 11. There will be no change to trash collection, however there will be no yard waste collected on Tuesday. As a parking holiday, there will be no charge at on-street parking meters on Tuesday, November 11.

Veterans Day Breakfast on November 13

On Thursday, November 13, 2025 the City of Portsmouth Recreation Department invites all Portsmouth veterans and a guest to a free French toast breakfast starting at 9 am at the Senior Activity Center (125 Cottage Street). Each attending veteran will receive a pie from the Edgewood Center to take home. The Quilts of Valor ceremony takes place at 11 am when a small number of veterans nominated by the community each receive a quilt handmade in their honor. The Veterans Breakfast is an annual tradition in Portsmouth. To make the required reservation for the Veterans Breakfast, call 603-610-4433.