EMPORIUM — Services were held on Wednesday to commemorate veterans in Cameron County and honor those who served the country in wartime.
Early in the day, Veterans Day program was performed at Cameron County High School, with students, veterans and community members participating.
The ceremony has been held every year at the high school since the 1960s, and the community is welcome to attend each year. Students in grades seven through 12 are dismissed from classes in order to attend the event.
During the program, roll calls of veterans who were killed serving their country during each major conflict and a list of veterans who passed away over the past year are read by students and the commanders of the Cameron County Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion clubs.
The high school band participates in the ceremony, opening the program with the Star Spangled Banner and playing another musical selection. This year, the band performed “Officer of the Day,” written by Robert Browne Hall.
The laying of wreaths in honor of the fallen is performed by members of the Ladies Auxiliaries of the VFW and American Legion organizations, along with a 21-gun salute and the playing of “Taps.” “Taps” was performed this year by high school band members Cerise Ramsey and Kaitlyn Burgett.
The Veterans’ Day Address this year was given by former U.S. Marine Thomas Richards, a graduate of the high school who now serves as a member of the Cameron County Memorial Detail Honor Guard.
Richards spoke of the courage and sacrifice of veterans and of the difficulties they face when returning to their civilian lives.
“America’s men and women risk life and limb every day so we can live free,” Richards said. “We should continually endeavor to serve veterans as well as they’ve served our country.”
Richards said veterans make America stronger, and are likely to volunteer in the community, as firefighters, EMTs, search and rescue and in other service-type organizations, but they often face hardships at home finding jobs and stable housing.
Richards said one in four homeless people in the United States is a veteran, and nine out of 10 of those on the streets were honorably discharged. Many of them served in Vietnam, but have had difficulties due to PTSD and other illnesses or injuries resulting from their service in wartime.
“When someone mentions the high cost of veterans’ benefits, remind them of the high cost of being a veteran,” said Richards.
Richards also read a piece written by author C.S. Lewis, which stated, “All that we fear from all kinds of adversity, severally, is collected together in the life of a soldier on active service. Like sickness, it threatens pain and death. Like poverty, it threatens ill lodging, cold, heat, thirst and hunger. Like slavery, it threatens toil, humiliation, injustice and arbitrary rule. Like exile, it separates you from all you love.”
Following ceremonies at the high school, a memorial service is held at the Big Flag Memorial on Emporium’s West End and in front of the Cameron County Courthouse at the World War I Memorial.
During both ceremonies, wreaths are laid, prayers are read, the honor guard fires a salute and “Taps” is played in honor of the men and women who died during various wars. At the Big Flag Memorial, monuments to soldiers who fell in World War II, Vietnam, Korea, the Cold War and in Iraq and Afghanistan are kept. At the courthouse, a Soldiers and Sailors monument and the World War I monument are maintained on the front lawn.
Throughout the day, Emporium’s Main Street is lined with American flags, and the wreaths laid during morning ceremonies are left up throughout the day in honor of veterans.
In the evening, veterans were treated to a free dinner in honor of Veterans Day by the Cameron County Vets Club. All food is prepared and served by members of the VFW Ladies’ Auxiliary. Last year, nearly 100 veterans attended the meal and social hour. Numbers were expected to be comparable again this year.
While Veterans Day is set aside specifically to remember the sacrifices made by veterans to maintain the safety and prosperity of the nation, local veterans’ organizations urge the public to remember veterans every day for their hard work, dedication and service.
