Residents gathered Saturday to commemorate area veterans and express appreciation for their service Saturday at the Jerry G. English Memorial Plaza at Mike Miller Park in Draffenville. Members of the American Legion posted and retired the colors, as well as conducting a 21-gun salute and performance of “Taps.” District 3 Commissioner and former District 3 Commissioner Jerry English led participants in the Pledge of Allegiance, and Judge Shea Nickell sang “Battle Hymn of the Republic” with help from Cub Scouts in the Sharpe community.
Dawn Bailey Whitt, whose father served in the U. S. Military, gave this year’s keynote address detailing her father’s service and what it meant to grow up in a military family. Whitt discussed the impact of frequent moving, protests during the Vietnam era that denounced those in the service while her father was in active combat and the lessons she took from both her parents.
Judge-Executive Kevin Neal, a retired U.S. Marine, served as emcee for the event; the Patriot Guard Riders held vigil over the ceremony.
