Veterans Day

Activities and programs scheduled for Monday, Nov. 12, through Friday, Nov. 16, at senior citizens centers in Washington County, Md., and Franklin County, Pa.: Maryland Francis Murphy 20014 Rosebank Way, Hagerstown 240-313-9300, ext. 154 Closed for Veterans Day - Monday Blood pressure screening with Meritus Home Health Care - Tuesday, 10 a.m. Birthday Club with Len Mosby - Wednesday, noon ...

Approximately 60 people attended the Joint Veterans Council of Washington County's Veterans Day ceremony Sunday morning in Halfway, a crowd large enough to draw comments and appreciation from the event's speakers. “This is one of the largest turnouts we've ever had,” said Wayne Taylor, president of the Joint Veterans Council as he stood in the Veterans Memorial Garden at Martin L. “Marty” Snook Memorial Park. Marine veteran Robert “Bo” Myers, the event's speaker, said it was wonderful to see so many veterans and family members of veterans.

One of the more poignant images from this campaign season was a long row of gravestones in Arlington National Cemetery, with the notation that a long line at the polls should be of comparatively little inconvenience. We agree with that sentiment, and remember this Veterans Day the men and women who through the years have ensured our freedoms at the ballot box and elsewhere. And we thank those organizations in the community that have steadfastly spread the story of our veterans, and appropriately honored their service.

With today being Veterans Day, I want to take this opportunity to announce several features at The Herald-Mail that focus on veterans.  “Through a Veteran's Eye” is a relatively new television show on HMTV6.  Fred Shinbur (Maryland's Veteran of the Year for 2011 and the current chairman of the Maryland Veterans Commission) and I are the hosts. The purpose of this show is to inform veterans about benefits and services available in our area. The show airs Tuesdays at 8 a.m., noon and 4 p.m. on Antietam Cable channel 6, and on a random basis throughout the weekend.

Les Smith told Spring Mills Middle School students Friday that he enlisted in the West Virginia Air National Guard years after he wasn't drafted to fight in the Vietnam War. “I wanted the opportunity in some small way to perhaps pay back what had been given to me by others,”  Smith said at the school's annual Veterans Day assembly. Smith, who is a counselor at Martinsburg High School, along with Sharon Webb, a military flight nurse who works at the Martinsburg Veterans Affairs Medical Center, were the guest speakers for the hour-long program, which featured performances of patriotic music by the school's seventh- and eighth-grade chorus and individual recognition of area veterans who attended.

Boonsboro High School junior Etta Short said the Veterans Day ceremony that was held Friday in the school gymnasium was a fitting way to honor Americans for their military service. But despite the patriotic music that was played and the speeches that were given, she said she believed veterans hardly get the amount of respect they deserve. “I don't think some people realize how much they did for our country,” she said. Mannie Gentile, a Navy veteran and interpretive park ranger at Antietam National Battlefield, told the students in his keynote address that many of them were no different than veterans who have gone off to fight in the past.

We should thank veterans, active military for our freedom To the editor: Veterans Day is a day set aside to honor and remind us to thank our vets and active military. Have you ever thought where we would be without them? I have, and let me tell you, it is not a pretty thought. I could never do their job. It is not a gift-giving day as such, but there is a gift involved - our freedom and safety. It is a gift from our military to us civilians. Living close to Antietam Battlefield with all the re-enactments going on recently was a little disturbing at times.

A flag that flew over the United States Capitol is now at Hagerstown Community College after a Veterans Day event Thursday. Put on by the Veterans Club at HCC, the event was held in the Student Center and paid homage to veterans for their service in advance of Veterans Day, which is Nov. 11. “A lot of people don't realize the total number of veterans that are here on campus,” Veterans Club President Allen Calvert said. “If they're no longer in the military, we just look like the average person unless we're wearing our uniform.” Calvert, 57, is in his second year at HCC double-majoring in Business Management and Alternative Energy Technology.

The Interfaith Service Coalition will hold its annual Keep a Senior Safe and Warm program Saturday at the Hancock Town Hall and Community Center, 126 W. High St. Guest speakers offer sessions on winter health, winter driving safety, using wood stoves and space heaters and tips on energy savings. The workshop is free. Attendees also receive information on fuel and energy assistance programs.  All area seniors are invited. Refreshments will be offered at 8:30 a.m., and the program begins at 9 a.m. with a welcome and introductions by ISC Board President the Rev. Allan Weatherholt and Executive Director Debbie Cohill.  Advance registration is required.

Following is a list of events planned in observance of Veterans Day: Thursday Hagerstown Community College - Students in the Veterans Club at Hagerstown Community College will hold a Veterans Day event today at 11 a.m. in the Student Center on HCC's main campus. The event will include a presentation of colors by the Bulldog Detachment of the Marine Corps League and an invocation by Pastor John Miller. Immediately following the ceremony, the documentary “Restrepo,” a feature-length film that chronicles the deployment of a U.S. platoon in Afghanistan, will be shown at 12:30 p.m. in the Student Center conference room.