Yesterday at the AmVets park in Chambersburg, PA, District 22 of the Sons of the American Legion put on its 7th Annual Veterans Appreciation Day. District 22 covers the squadrons in southcentral PA. It was a chance for a lot of our veterans to have a day out and be thanked for their service. I went to cover the event for our squadron and on the way passed a bus from a retirement community being escorted by the Legion Riders from Post 46 in Chambersburg, PA.
At the event, there were a number of providers of services for veterans set up. The District Commander opened the ceremony and various representatives from veterans service organizations, the state government and the aforesaid providers came up to address the attendees. But the surprise came when the District Commander asked if a representative from the PA Department of Military and Veterans Affairs wanted to come up to speak. One of its staff said, "One of our veterans would like to speak." So completely impromptu, a Navy veteran drove his wheelchair up to the podium and thanked all of the speakers, and thanked the American Legion, Sons of the American Legion and VFW for their support when the veterans came home.
Tim Wright, a Vietnam veteran, brought his traveling wall, the Fallen Heroes of the Mid-Atlantic States. This is a mobile exhibit he developed to honor those from seven states who have fallen in service to the country since October 1, 2001. The District Commander presented a check to Mr. Wright to support his work. Mr. Wright closed by saying that he had no family members listed on the wall, but he considered each person listed on the wall as his brother or sister because he read the biography of each and every one of them.
My plan is to submit a write-up of the event for our post newsletter. I have become the unofficial public relations officer for our local Sons of the American Legion squadron so I made sure to take a lot of notes and pictures so that there will be a complete story of how the veterans were honored at this event.
At the event, there were a number of providers of services for veterans set up. The District Commander opened the ceremony and various representatives from veterans service organizations, the state government and the aforesaid providers came up to address the attendees. But the surprise came when the District Commander asked if a representative from the PA Department of Military and Veterans Affairs wanted to come up to speak. One of its staff said, "One of our veterans would like to speak." So completely impromptu, a Navy veteran drove his wheelchair up to the podium and thanked all of the speakers, and thanked the American Legion, Sons of the American Legion and VFW for their support when the veterans came home.
Tim Wright, a Vietnam veteran, brought his traveling wall, the Fallen Heroes of the Mid-Atlantic States. This is a mobile exhibit he developed to honor those from seven states who have fallen in service to the country since October 1, 2001. The District Commander presented a check to Mr. Wright to support his work. Mr. Wright closed by saying that he had no family members listed on the wall, but he considered each person listed on the wall as his brother or sister because he read the biography of each and every one of them.
My plan is to submit a write-up of the event for our post newsletter. I have become the unofficial public relations officer for our local Sons of the American Legion squadron so I made sure to take a lot of notes and pictures so that there will be a complete story of how the veterans were honored at this event.
