Veterans honored at public ceremonies, schools

Jasper County veterans were honored at a number of ceremonies in various locations Wednesday.

At Newton High School, DMACC-Newton, Berg Elementary School and many other locations in the county, veterans from both the draft and volunteer eras were praised for their courage and thanked for service to their country.

The Newton High School ceremony might have been the largest Veterans Day event in the county. Nearly all of the school’s 842 students were at the event, which included music from the wind ensemble, a brief talk about the meaning of freedom from Principal Bill Peters, an a capella mixed choir rendition of “God Bless America,” students taking the stage to lead the group of guest veterans in the Pledge of Allegiance and students greeting and thanking veterans for their service after the assembly.

The DMACC ceremony featured the formality one would expect for a Veterans Day event. Produced by the Jasper County Veterans Council, members of the American Legion Riders from Post 111 and many other organizations had a hand in the event as well.

The Legion Riders, led inton the auditorium by bagpiper Ron Husted, brought in 17 American flags to help bring life to the stage.

Wreaths were set in front of the DMACC auditorium stage in honor of either the organizations or veterans who fought in one of the major conflicts of the past century. The Rev. Eldon Pals’ invocation was one of the parts of the ceremony, as were a main address by Ret. Sgt. Maj. Gary Barrett, who called on the government to reverse its trends of downsizing and cutting defense spending.

“Pride, determination, selflessness, and just plain integrity — those are the characteristics of a veteran,” Barrett said. “They were called upon to be a part of something bigger than themselves.”

The service moved outside for a salute to veterans, with the color guard performing a gunshot salute.

Only about 30 people were at the DMACC ceremony; Barrett pointed out that schools and most businesses and government offices were, in the past, closed on Veterans Day.

The Berg Elementary School event involved small hats worn by some of the youngest students, which had a color scheme for each branch of the military. Veterans and their families were honored in several ways by children and the BMS staff, and the finale was the students’ rendition of Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land.”

Also, Berg turned the windows of its cafeteria into a wall of honor by posting photos and brief profiles of servicemen and servicewomen with connections to BES students. One family had four generations represented, as student Anjelica Wakey, whose father Jonathan and uncle Jesse both serve in the Armed Forces, had both her grandfather, Alan Shea, and her great-grandfather, Bart Clark, at the event. Shea and Clark both served as well.

Contact Jason W. Brooks at 641-792-3121 ext. 6532 or jbrooks@newtondailynews.com