Veterans Day Ceremony, Program scheduled for today
(Seguin) – Don’t forget to thank a veteran. Today, the country comes together to celebrate and recognize the sacrifices of all veterans especially those closest to you. The community is invited to gather for today’s annual Veterans Day Ceremony and Program being held at Veteran Memorial Park located at the corner of Jefferson and Erkel Streets.
Leading the effort under the umbrella of the Guadalupe Valley Veterans Council, is the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Chapter 61. Marlin Howze, of the DAV, says although this year’s program will not feature the traditional parade, it will still recognize the importance that all veterans play in this country with the help of this year’s guest speaker.
“This year’s theme was ‘Taking Care of Veterans in a Pandemic’ and so our speaker is going to be aligned with that topic in mind. We have a guest speaker which is Daniel Dorado III. He is a Vet Center counselor and he is a U.S. Marine Gunny Sergeant. The pandemic kind of hit everybody in general but for a lot of veterans, some of them are coming back from Afghanistan or Iraq with some pretty significant injuries and stuff. Others are coming back with the silent injuries of PTSD and trying to get care during that pandemic was difficult because of the fact that they weren’t being seen at the VA hospitals and then there was the other side of it where you are trying to file claims to ensure that they get the benefits for health and the compensation for the injuries and those were being slowed down because everything was being shut down at the government levels,” said Howze.
Howze says he ask that the community come out and show its support for a much deserving group.
“The public needs to just remember that they did a job, they did the job to the best of their ability. Some of them suffered wounds as a result, some of them watched friends pass on and then some of them watched the government make choices that had a direct impact on them and some of them came away with a good feeling and some of them came away with not so good of a feeling but regardless, the public needs to remember that these guys went out there and put their lives on the line in the service of our country. In fact, Memorial Day is when we really celebrate those that gave the ultimate sacrifice, but Veterans Day is when we just celebrate their service, the fact that they were willing to do a job that most people in the country do not,” said Howze.
The Veterans Day Program in Seguin begins today at 11 a.m. Residents are encouraged to bring their lawn chairs.
Other holiday events today include the Navarro ISD Veterans Day Celebration for veterans and their spouses beginning at 9 a.m. at Erwin-Lee Field. A reception will be held prior to the event from 8:15 to 8:45 a.m. in the Event Center.
Also, the Seguin High School ROTC will be celebrating the district’s employees who are veterans during its annual Veterans Day ceremony scheduled for 10:20 a.m. in the SHS gym.
The Greater Marion Chamber of Commerce will also host its annual ceremony today beginning at 7:15 a.m. at Veterans Park located across from the Marion City Hall building.