Derek Anderson, an Army National Guard sergeant and a veteran of the Iraq war, will be the featured speaker at the Veterans Day Observance at Southport Memorial Library on Wednesday, Nov. 11 at 11 a.m.

The event, sponsored by the Southport Library Aides, will honor all those who have served or are serving our nation. It is the only ceremony on Veterans Day in the Boothbay region.

Veterans and their families, as well as all local residents, are invited to gather at the flagpole at 10:45 a.m. for the ceremony, which will start promptly at 11 a.m.

Anderson will speak about his experiences as a tank driver in Ramadi, Iraq in 2005-2006. He is now employed at Dan’s Garage in Boothbay and is currently in the National Guard, 152 Maintenance Company out of Augusta.

Southport veteran Jim Singer will be master of ceremonies. Tim Hanley and his father Robert Hanley, both veterans, will lower the flag to half-staff. The Rev. Kit Sherrill will offer a prayer. Head Selectman Gerry Gamage will lead the group in singing "God Bless America." Gamage will also read the names of those veterans who have died in the past year. The Rev. Robert Dent will play taps. The Hanleys will then raise the flag and veterans will be asked to remain in place for a group photo.

Coffee and donuts will be served inside the library, and many will want to gather in the Mystery Room to see Derek Anderson’s slides of Iraq. Jim Singer’s slide presentation of all veterans from the Boothbay region will also be shown in the old schoolhouse room.

All are invited to attend. The Southport Library is located at Cape Newagen, at the tip of Southport Island. Cross the drawbridge and turn left on Route 238 and continue 3.8 miles to the library. For more information, call 633-2741. The library is open Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., and Tuesday and Thursday 7-9 p.m.