Perry organizations honor veterans

The American Legion Post 24 and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6126 held a Veterans Day program Friday at the Perry Arts Center.

CMSgt. (retired) Leland R. Callan served as the master of ceremonies. At the start of the program, attendees stood for the presentation of colors by the Perry High School Air Force JROTC. Samantha Bartlett and Yvonne Edwards sang the “Star-Spangled Banner.”

The opening prayer was done by the Rev. Roland Fall. During his prayer, he said veterans have defended and protected our country, ensuring justice, freedom and peace.

“Bless our veterans and their families who gave so much to achieve so much,” he prayed.

The program continued with Perry Mayor James E. Faircloth Jr. giving the welcome address.

“Police officers ambushed, youth killing their friend, professional football players refusing to stand for the national anthem to highlight social injustice; Election Day 2016, all of the rhetoric leading up to it, the negative ads, speeches, accusations and then the election,” he said. “I don’t remember a time in my life where a nation has been so polarized. However, our Founding Fathers created a system to handle it all — our Constitution — though flawed, has been amended numerous times.

“The election process is vital to that system. It survives. We will soon witness the process of the civil transfer of power in the world’s strongest and greatest nation once again. No matter how bad we may think it gets, our system, though flawed, still persists. The only reason we continue to have our choices, our ways of life, our freedoms, our ability to speak out, our ability to travel, work, play and worship is solely due to the sacrifice of our men and women of our armed forces, past and present. You, veterans and active duty military, police officers, first responders, are the backbone and foundational guardians of our continued rights and freedoms.”

Faircloth added, “From me in my house, the city of Perry, Houston County, the state of Georgia of this great nation, thank you, thank you, thank you.”

Musical entertainment was provided by Lake Joy School, led by Edwards. The guest speaker was Pastor Jerry Walls of Southside Baptist Church.

“I feel like Veterans Day is a forgotten day in America,” he said.

Walls said as a kid growing up, he went to a park or parade every Veterans Day and watched men who have served in World War II march by proud, tall and strong and those on the street saluting them, along with the American flag.

“Today, we have lost the meaning, I’m afraid, of what this day is about,” he said. “Simply stated, the purpose of Veterans Day is to give Americans the opportunity to celebrate the bravery and sacrifice of United States veterans.”

He then asked all veterans to stand, which the audience then applauded them.

“We celebrate this day in recognition of the end of World War I. It ended on the 11th month, the 11th hour, the 11th day,” Walls said. “Today, we are able to gather here to celebrate our freedom for two reasons.”

He said one of the reasons is because of the providence of God.

“America was founded not by religionists but by Christians, not upon religion but upon the gospel of Jesus Christ,” he said.

Walls said secondly, “We also owe our freedom to the American veteran.”

“It is the veteran of the United States who has made our freedom possible,” he said, noting they come from all walks of life.

“The world owes a debt to the United States veteran,” Walls said.

He told the veterans in the room, “You are needed today. Your love and passion for our country is always and will always be our greatest example of how we are to love our country.”

Walls said America has forgotten how blessed this nation is.

“It has become a land of takers and not givers,” he said.

Having been raised to honor those who serve, Walls said his family tree is filled with veterans. His grandfather fought in World War I in the 42nd Division (the Rainbow Division).

“He was left for dead in France after being hit by machine gunfire and stabbed with bayonets,” he said, holding an announcement that was sent to his grandfather’s parents informing them that he had died. He also mentioned a third cousin who he never knew that was on the USS California during the Pearl Harbor attack.

“As far as I know, he is still missing in action,” Walls said.

He said his three brothers also served in the military, noting one of his brothers served during the Vietnam War, as well as his best friend who lost his legs after stepping onto a 60-pound box mine.

He noted his grandfather who was left for dead lived to be 68 years old but suffered severe lung problems due to the mustard gas that he was exposed to during World War I. His brother came home from Vietnam with a severe case of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and never fully recovered, and his friend still suffers pains from his wounds.

“We owe a debt to our veterans,” Walls said, noting it’s a shame how the government has taken care of veterans. “We need to make our veterans a priority.”

“I’m grateful for those who have served both in war time and peace time,” he said. “Because I believe that every veteran, whether he served in peace or war, needs to be honored.”

He said many veterans still suffer — many are homeless, many are hungry.

“Statistics tell us that 22 veterans kill themselves every day,” Walls said. “So, today, I want to challenge our community, I want to challenge you to encourage a veteran, to thank a veteran. A veteran is a hero. A veteran is kind of like Clark Kent. He only puts on the uniform when he needs to.”

He added, “I want to encourage the veterans here to know that you are important and we recognize that our freedom comes from your service and we thank you.”

The service song for each branch of the armed forces was then played as veterans in the room stood and the audience clapped, followed by the Rev. Warren Rogers of Perry First Baptist Church singing “God Bless the USA.” The program concluded with a prayer by the Rev. Willie King.

Master Sgt. Donald Holmes, who attended the program, served for 26 years (four years active duty Navy, seven years Navy Reserve, five years Army National Guard and 10 years Army Reserve) and took training to be a combat medic. He was an emergency medical technician for years. He said he’s thankful for those who remember and pay tribute to veterans. Holmes said he started tearing up when King sang “God Bless the USA.”

He proudly said his son, who is currently stationed in Montgomery, Alabama, is about to retire from the Air Force in about four and a half months.

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