South Middle School holds 44th annual Veterans Day program Monday
Sarah Whitledge Taylor told local veterans gathered for the 44th annual Veterans Day program at South Middle School Monday that she was grateful for that something inside them that allowed them to raise their right hand and join the Armed Forces.
“You’re all heroes,” she said to veterans present who served ranging from World War II to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Taylor, who was the guest speaker at the program, is a past president of the American Gold Star Mothers, Inc., a national organization comprised of mothers of children who’d died serving in the Armed Forces. She said that after her son, David, died in Kandahar, Afghanistan, in 2012, she dedicated the rest of her life to helping veterans.
She spoke of significant events in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. She said she’s very much drawn to advocating for Vietnam vets because of the unfair treatment they were given once they returned to the United States.
“You all did what you had to to get out of the hell you were in,” she said. She also mentioned other conflicts that American troops engaged in throughout the years, including Operation Desert Shield, Operation Desert Storm, 9/11, the Afghanistan War and Iraq War.
She asked that all veterans hold their heads up high and be proud.
“We can never thank you enough,” she said.
Taylor also pointed comments to South students, speaking about loyalty and service. She said students should be loyal to their friends but “be loyal to yourself first.” She also said there are numerous ways to serve as a student, including organizing fundraising efforts and donating to those who need it.
Scores of veterans and family members attended the program. One, Paul Wheeler, served in the Army with the 380th Quartermaster Company in Desert Storm. He said many of those he served with in Iraq are now suffering from cancer and sinus problems that he attributes to the burn pits and burning oil wells there.
Wheeler worked at a refueling port for helicopters and “had to watch the skies” because of constant enemy bombardment.
Donald Banks is an Army veteran who served in the Vietnam War in 1968-69, which included combat during the Tet Offensive. He was wounded there and earned a Purple Heart and two Bronze Stars, he said.
Banks said Veterans Day and Monday’s program are important for veterans, especially those who served in the Korean and Vietnam wars. Those veterans, he said, weren’t given the celebrations that previous soldiers had upon their return.
Also present was Jim DeArmand, president of the Rolling Thunder, a group dedicated to soldiers who are prisoners of war and missing in action. DeArmond said there are still 81,000 soldiers from WWII on who have not been accounted for.
After the program, Rolling Thunder members were to meet with SMS students to educate them about POW/MIA soldiers and the work the group does, DeArmond said.
Several local officials spoke, including Judge-Executive Brad Schneider, Mayor Brad Staton, Henderson County Schools Superintendent Dr. Bob Lawson and SMS Principal Stacey Fish.
SMS choir and band performed stirring patriotic music and the Missing Man Roll Call was performed. After a 21 Gun salute by the American Legion Honor Guard, the program closed with a rendition of Taps by Henderson County High School band Director John Woods.
After the program, American Legion members held a small ceremony at the war monuments in Central Park and the stature of Admiral Husband Kimmel on the downtown riverfront.
