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Honoring Vets in Lincoln County

November 15, 2007|MICHAEL BROIHIER

Lincoln County High School students honored military veterans Monday with breakfast and a ceremony recognizing their service to their country.

More than two dozen veterans attended the celebration of service coordinated again this year by teacher Tim Estes. The veterans' experience ranged from Russell Burton, a World War II sailor, to Jamison Goatee, a 2004 LCHS graduate and Army specialist recently back from Iraq.

After a hot breakfast in the LCHS cafeteria, veterans were escorted down the school's hallways lined with applauding students and teachers and proceeded into the auditorium led by the Junior Guard color guard.

Senior Class President Jordan Wilkinson started the celebration with a recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance followed by an a cappella version of the National Anthem of rare quality by Nicolette Coontz. During a medley of service songs, audience members stood to recognized family members who'd served in the separate services.

When the servicemen were recognized by name and presented with a certificate, each had an opportunity to share his thoughts with the students. Their comments ranged from the humorous to the heart-rending, sharing jibes with their fellow vets or recounting the loss of friends in battles past.

While many of the veterans said many of the students would be veterans themselves, Bobby Curtis, a soldier and veteran of the Vietnam War, wished that someday there would be no more new veterans because "maybe we could all live in peace."

The ceremony concluded with a moment of silence followed by Taps played by Lacey Coffman.

After the ceremony, members of Stanford's Post 18 of the American Legion visited the Veteran's Memorial on the front lawn of the Lincoln County Courthouse where they hoisted a new national flag as well as stiff, new service flags to replace those faded by time and the elements.

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