Under a brilliant blue sky, about 50 veterans were joined by civilians and state and city officials to commemorate Veterans Day - the first of several ceremonies throughout the region yesterday - aboard the world's oldest surviving steel warship.

"It is an honor to pay reverence to those who have given their lives to their country and to those who serve," Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers said, addressing the crowd on the fantail of the storied cruiser. "Thank you for the sacrifice."

On the Delaware, the fireboat Independence spouted jets of water hundreds of feet into the air as a four-member color guard reverently folded a flag.

A lone bugler blew Taps as the acrid scent of gunpowder curled around the deck.

The ceremony marked the first time the Olympia had been included in a citywide celebration of Veterans Day events.

"We're looking forward to this becoming an annual event," said Michael C. Axelrod, president of the Philadelphia Flag Day Association, which helped organize the observance.

The 116-year-old Olympia is best known as Commodore George Dewey's flagship during the Spanish-American War.

Few know that the Olympia also returned America's Unknown Soldier from France in 1921, said Lori Dillar Rech, president of the Independence Seaport Museum.

After yesterday's ceremonies, several former sailors and dignitaries descended to Dewey's quarters for coffee.

Carl W. Vozniak, 86, served as a submarine electrician aboard the USS Finback during World War II.

"It was a pretty ceremony," he said. But Vozniak, who was aboard the Finback when it picked up a downed Navy pilot named George H.W. Bush in the South Pacific, isn't content to resurface his memories only once a year.

Vozniak volunteers three days a week on the USS Becuna, the World War II-era submarine moored next to the Olympia.

"We're bringing the Becuna back to life," he said. "Seven years ago it was dead. Now the lights are working. It's my own small way of giving tribute."

Other Veterans Day events in the city included an 11 a.m. service at the Korean War Memorial, Front and Spruce Streets, and a noon ceremony at the Vietnam Memorial, across the street from the Korean War Memorial.