The Town of West Hartford will hold its annual Veterans Day ceremony on Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025, featuring retired U.S. Army Capt. Marc Giammatteo as the guest speaker.

Submitted

Capt. Marc Giammatteo, (U.S. Army Retired) will be the keynote speaker at the Town of West Hartford’s Nov. 11 Veterans Day Ceremony which will be held at 11 a.m. at the Connecticut Veterans Memorial West Hartford, located at the corner of Farmington Avenue and North Main Street in West Hartford Center.

Giammatteo graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 2000. In March 2003, he deployed to Iraq with the Third Armored Cavalry Regiment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom where he led more than 100 combat missions. On Jan. 8, 2004, he was severely wounded, sustaining multiple injuries when his combat patrol was ambushed by insurgents with rocket-propelled grenades. After more than 30 operations and two-and-a-half-years of rehabilitation at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., he was honorably discharged in November 2006, was awarded the Bronze Star for exceptionally meritorious performance, and received the Purple Heart from President George W. Bush.

In 2007, Giammatteo was selected by the President to join eight other Commissioners, including Senator Bob Dole and Secretary Donna Shalala, on the President’s Commission on Care for America’s Returning Wounded Warriors. The Commission conducted a comprehensive review of the care and services America provides its wounded servicemen and women returning from the battlefield.

After receiving his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in 2008, Giammatteo joined J.P. Morgan as an Investment Banker in the Mergers and Acquisitions group in Manhattan. Over a 15-year career, he advised on more than $190 billion of announced global M&A transactions in a broad range of industries.

Giammatteo is a volunteer with the West Hartford Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), and Initial Response Group (IRG). He is a member of the American Legion Post 96, a treasurer on the King Philip Middle School PTO Board, and an assistant coach in the West Hartford Girls Basketball League.

Giammatteo, a Southington native, moved to West Hartford in 2020 with his wife, Genna, and their daughter, Isla.

The Veterans Day ceremony speakers will include Mayor Shari Cantor and state Sen. Derek Slap. The emcee is American Legion Post 96 Commander Heidi-Anne Mooney, USMC, Combat Engineer, Capt. 1990-1998, and Assistant Scoutmaster, Troop 146 at West Hartford United Methodist Church. Pastor Dana Hallenbeck will give the invocation and the benediction.

Delia Canarie, a Conard High School junior, will sing the National Anthem, and Henry Drolet of Conard High School will perform TAPS on the bugle.

Memorial wreath. West Hartford Veterans Day ceremony. Nov. 11, 2024. Photo credit: Ronni Newton (we-ha.com file photo)

Giammatteo and Cantor will present the memorial wreath. Color guards from the American Legion Post 96 and the West Hartford Police and Fire departments are also part of the ceremony honoring veterans.

In the event of inclement weather, the ceremony will be held indoors at 11 a.m. at the Town Hall Auditorium, located at 50 South Main Street, West Hartford.

The American Legion was founded in 1919 on the Four Pillars of a Strong National Security, Veterans Affairs, Americanism, and Youth Programs. With a current membership of over 2 million veterans, Legionnaires work for the betterment of their communities through more than 14,000 posts across the nation. The American Legion Hayes-Velhage Post 96 of West Hartford has been serving our Veterans and the West Hartford community for 103 years. Further information is available on the Post’s website at www.post96.org or phone the Post at 860-233-9029.