The state legislature is considering a bill that would make Veterans Day a state holiday.
On Tuesday, the Veterans’ Affairs Committee held a public hearing to discuss the bill.
If Veterans Day were to become a state holiday, all schools would be closed. As it stands now, the decision is up to the individual districts.
Joseph P. Nolan, a Vietnam veteran from Waterbury, testified in favor of the bill.
"As time goes on with no holiday, eventually Veterans Day is eventually just going to slip away," Nolan said.
Preserving the holiday is not only important to Nolan because he served in Vietnam, but also because he lost his son, Sgt. Joseph M. Nolan, in Iraq in 2004.
Many schools have an assembly, which Nolan agrees is a great idea, but he said it would mean more to have the day off. Nolan thinks schools should instead educate students year round on veterans, the sacrifices they make and the horror of war.
Local
"I think people need to know what happened. We need to stop having a war every generation. And so I think the more we talk about, the more we discuss this, keeping this holiday a holiday in my mind is paramount," said Nolan.
Rep. Pam Staneski (R-Milford) agrees that we should never forget the sacrifice veterans make.
But Staneski said when she was on the Milford School Board 10 years ago, she asked a local veterans organization about having the holiday off and they told her they would prefer school stay in session so they could come into the classroom and teach students.
Staneski said she is concerned Veterans Day will be lost on our younger generations if schools closed.
The committee has not made a final decision.
