CHAPTER CHATTER
The Official Newsletter of the
Shenandoah Valley Chapter #313
Korean War Veterans Association
COMMANDER'S COMMENTS
Commander Ray Ewing
For the benefit of those that were unable to attend the recent Veterans Day activities, I would like to recount several that I did attend. Bettye and I flew home Thursday evening from Pensacola, Florida
where we had attended my ship’s reunion. It was a rush to get up and get to Millbrook High School Friday morning for Veterans Day events sponsored by the three county High Schools.
This is a local event all veterans should attend. The young men and women of these schools express their gratitude to those veterans attending in a grand fashion. The students receive you with a very warm welcome upon arrival and upon entering the auditorium for the program. You are treated to a breakfast where you also have an opportunity to mingle with other veterans you might not have had the chance to meet. The program is designed as a salute to the veteran and to the country. You find yourself amazed at the poise and composure of the students as it is presented.
Then upon departure the entire student body of the neighboring Red Bud Elementary School is lined up on a bank along the road greeting you.
If you have never attended you are missing something great, plan to go next year. I feel we need to attend in order to express our support and appreciation for their effort.
Then there was Saturday for the ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. A very cold (18 degrees ) and very early (6:00am) morning, but it was all worth it. The bus that was to pick us up broke down therefore its replacement was late arriving. This however, turned out to be a blessing in disguise. In two ways, we didn’t have to sit on the cold marble seats in the Amphitheater waiting for the program to start quite as long and secondly the bus didn’t get locked in a Secret Service containment area and was able to come back and pick us up sooner. The pageantry and the program were quite impressive. It was all topped off with an address by Vice-President Pence, who articulated the efforts underway to improve support and service for veterans.
(Cont.’ Page 2)
