Today I went to the Village of Ilion Veterans Day Ceremony in the Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Ilion Municipal Building. Full disclosure: I went to cover it for the Daily Sentinel, and my story for them was more detailed. In this space, I will just briefly mention it and use a couple of pictures I did not send to the newspaper.
JROTC practicing before the ceremony.
OK, this one I sent to the paper, because it was the only good one I got of Junior Reserve Officer Training Corp (JROTC) from Central Valley Academy (CVA). They were very solemn as the presented the colors. Then the CVA choir sang the National Anthem, and I got chills. They should get high school choirs to sing the anthem at ball games instead of rock stars, in my not so humble opinion.
A fine soldier.
They had two spaces set up in the back where a professional photographer was taking pictures of the veterans. This is my friend, Bob Fletcher, who was also one of the speakers. He gave an excellent, well-researched speech. Bob is a military historian as well as a veteran.
Soldiers with family members posed here.
Here is Bob with his wife, Mary. They are both Elks friends of mine.
As part of the ceremony, they gave pins and coins to any veterans present. They allowed me to get them, even though I do not live in Ilion. I felt honored. I tried to take a picture of the coin and pin but was unsuccessful.
The ceremony featured another speaker who shared his military experiences. Then they read the names of veterans to be added to the walls of the auditorium. The walls have many names of Ilion residents who served, grouped by the conflicts in which they served. Ilion has sent a lot of people to serve our country.
In conclusion, I thank all soldiers and sailors past and present for their service. I am proud to be counted among them. Sometimes I feel I did not contribute a lot, as I was never deployed, but Bob pointed out that everyone made their contribution. I guess that is true for me, even if I was only the comic relief. Then too, a soldier can use a good laugh once in a while.
