The Annual Veterans Day program was held in two parts Wednesday — the first being held at Veterans Park followed by a second program held at Bunnell Cemetery following the program downtown.
Approximately 50 to 60 people braved the cold, windy and very overcast day at the park.
Russ Kaspar of Kaspar Media was the Master of Ceremonies and Shan Sheridan did the Invocation and Benediction. Jacque Clements sang the National Anthem, Opal Bower of American Legion Auxiliary Unit 12 followed with the Pledge of Allegiance followed by the Decorating of the Mound by Auxiliaries and organizations. Millard See of the Sons of the American Legion Squadron 12 followed with a poem before the 11 a.m. Firing by the Marine Corps League #967 and Taps by Larry McBee.
Photos of Veterans Day Program by Erick Dircks and Anna Emery: CLICK HERE
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Clinton County Sheriff Rich Kelly then gave the Veterans’ Day Address. Kelly was asked his thoughts on this day.
“It’s an absolute honor,” said Kelly. “It is extremely humbling. Today is a day of celebration for the soldiers and the veterans that served and are still serving. But it is still a humbling experience to understand that these folks volunteer to represent our beautiful United States of America across the world to provide freedoms across the world to people that need it.”
Kelly added his father in the United States Air Force and he has two nephews in the military.
The following is a transcript of Clinton County Sheriff Rich Kelly’s Veterans Day address on Wednesday.
Good Morning — I’m humbled and honored to be able to represent our community and to be asked to do this for our veterans here in Clinton County. I’m going to open, since we are going to have the firing party today, I’m going to open with a request that was brought to me just as I walked up and I think it is important and this precedes what I will talk about so I want to present:
On October 23, 2020, Clinton County lost one of our Vietnam War Veterans. His name is Thomas Allen Wright. He served in the Army. He was like many other soldiers who did. He served 11 months and 25 days in Vietnam. During those 11 months and 25 days, Tommy received the nation’s second highest honor, the Silver Star. He also received a Bronze Star, the Air Combat Medal, Purple Heart , Combat Infintry Badge, Vietnam Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Sharpshooter with an M14, Expert Markmanship with an M16.
Tommy was one of our heroes, like the real heroes, they don’t brag about what they have done, but he is one of the true heroes of the Vietnam War from Clinton County. Tommy was a quiet man. He did not brag about what he had done. He is loved by a wife, and many good friends.
This was presented to me by Joe Root, Clinton County Veteran’s Affairs, Veteran’s Service Officer. Thank you Joe for bringing that to me, so that I could share that with the rest of our community and our veterans.
I am honored to be here and this is extremely humbling to show my appreciation as we celebrate our men and women who have served in the greatest Military, for the greatest Country, the United States of America.
In the spring, we have a day of remembrance to take the time to honor those who served, but did not return. Today, we humbly show our respect and admiration and give thanks to those who served and came home.
Many returned changed – changed for the better as boys became men and girls became women, but also changed emotionally, mentally and physically. There are many wounds that our service members bare. Every day, 22 veterans lose their battle to the emotional and mental wounds they carried home from the battle fields. May we always remember the struggles of those returning home! Our own Congressman, Jim Baird, fought and lost his hand in Vietnam. He is a great man and it has been a pleasure to get to know Congressman Baird.
For over a century, we celebrated this event as Armistice Day. The day that marked the ending of the First World War, the war to end all wars. The day the guns fell silent on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.
From the inception of our great nation, valiant men and women have raised their hands and have been called to duty to protect and defend the freedoms of our country. The hard fought battles in American History such as Bunker Hill, Belleau Wood, San Juan Hill, Saipan, Coral Reef, Kandahar, Korea, Vietnam, WWII, Iraq and Afghanistan will forever be etched in our history. Over 50 million people have donned a uniform of the United States Military. Today, we give thanks to the nearly 20 million who walk amongst us today.
A few of us have stories in our families of our heroic parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts and uncles. My Grandfather, I hold a lot of his personal possessions dear to me, he was buried with the Army Air Corps. He never wanted to change to the United States Air Force and that is what is on his headstone. He flew in WWII. I am fortunate enough to have a few of his treasured items like his flight log. The last entry, “War is Over, We Won! Going home.”
It sends chills down me every time I read it and I think about what this young man was doing at that time when he wrote that or when he learned the war was over. I know that soldiers keep journals to keep track of what happened and how things went and have those things in their minds forever more. I’m also fortunate to have two nephews, one is a Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps and the other a Lieutenant in the United States Army and with great appreciation, we need those young men and women in these services to keep our country free and to protect those freedoms that we enjoy every day here in Clinton County and across this country.
I’m fortunate, we are all fortunate to have these folks in our midst and with respect and honor to each and every one of them. With that, I appreciate the opportunity to come up here and present a speech and to show gratitude and be thankful for everything that has been provided to this country by you, the veterans of our United States of America, and with that, I thank you!
At noon a dedication ceremony of the new flagpoles and Veteran stones took place at Bunnell Cemetery. Sheriff Kelly also addressed the gathering. Frankfort Mayor Judy Sheets was also present to pray and address the crowd. Ron Trees was MC at the Bunnell Cemetery Ceremony.
Photos of the Bunnell Cemetery dedication and Veterans program, CLICK HERE
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