Veterans Day Tribute

The community honored Veterans in a number of ways over the past few days.

The Advocate has included a slide show here of several events, including:

• The annual Veterans Day service held at the Montgomery County Courthouse. Tristan Taulbee, battalion commander of the JROTC detachment at Montgomery County High School, served as guest speaker. He plans to enlist in the Air Force to become an aircraft mechanic. The ceremony was hosted by the American Legion. It also included a presentation of colors by the MCHS JROTC Color Guard, a raising of the flag and more. Mallory Webb, an eighth grade at McNabb Middle School, sang the National Anthem. 

A group of veterans who attended the ceremony gathered for a photo following the ceremony's conclusion.

• An annual Marine Corps birthday cake cutting and luncheon held Monday at Irish Hills Restaurant and Events. Those in attendance celebrated "250 years of success on the battlefield and reaffirmed our values of honor, courage and commitment," Mayor Al Botts said. Botts served in the Marines.

Marines attending viewed a special 250th Marine Corps birthday message.

• Coverage of Purple Star Award ceremonies at McNabb, Mapleton and Camargo. All schools in the district received the award, which recognizes schools' dedication and support of military-connected youth. The Purple Star designation lets military parents know whether on active duty or in the National Guard or Reserves that a school is dedicated to helping children gain the education necessary to succeed.

The slide show also includes additional coverage from the Mapleton Veterans Day program (due to time constraints, the Advocate could only cover a portion of events). Each school held a program and they occurred on various days. Mapleton's event included Will Henry, U.S. Army, as guest speaker, performance by the MCHS orchestra, songs performed by Mapleton Elementary students, a flag folding ceremony presented by the MCHS JROTC and more.