Sycamore Center hosts solemn celebration for veterans
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STEUBENVILLE -- Children shared their musical and other talents for local veterans at the solemn. yet celebratory, Steubenville Community Veterans Day Program at the Sycamore Youth Center on Saturday.
A yearly tradition, the Veterans Day program this year featured past Valley's Got Talent contestants who sang and danced to patriotic tunes, along with speakers and others displaying their talents for the gathered veterans in the Sycamore Youth Center's chapel.
Air Force veteran Dave Gray, who attended the program, said it was "very meaningful."
"The young people are our future," Gray said. "I'm so proud that they gave an interest in our country to serve in any way. ... Today's service was awesome for remembering those who gave the ultimate sacrifice."
Performing for the program were Nikolas Kline, singing "Soldier, This Song I Sing For You;" Gemma Messenger, singing "Mr. Red, White and Blue;" Connie Brookes, singing "God Bless America" and Bailey McKnight, singing "Don't Stop Believin'." A dance routine to "America the Beautiful" was performed by Lynne Ensell, Dalana Bove and Avrie Deah.
Attendees also saw a flute solo of "God Bless the U.S.A." by Pamela Bauman, as well as "In the Garden" and "The Star-Spangled Banner," sung by Thomas Graham, former Jefferson County commissioner.
Trail Life Troop OH-0024 began the program with the posting of colors, followed by an invocation by Kabron Harris, a volunteer for the Sycamore Corps youth organization.
In an address, Steubenville Mayor Jerry Barilla recalled how, exactly one week beforehand, the city honored Seaman 2nd Class Stanley Casmier Galaszewski, a Navy sailor who died in the attack on Pearl Harbor and was buried on Nov. 4 after remaining unidentified for more than 80 years.
Having participated in the funeral procession and witnessed citizens lining the streets with U.S. flags in honor of Galaszewski, Barilla said he began to cry out of patriotic pride during the procession.
Barilla told a story of a woman who came to him at Fort Steuben to request a veterans memorial banner for her father. When asked, the woman told Barilla her father did not have any medals. To that, Barilla said, "Yes, he did. He had the highest medal you can get: His uniform."
"I said, 'When he put that uniform on, that meant he was willing to give his life for this country -- for you and me. You can't get any higher of a medal than that.'"
Sgt. Jack Ernest, a Marine Corps veteran, offered a Veterans Day reflection, during which he said many today do not understand the holiday or its origins. Veterans Day began as Armistice Day, a commemoration of the armistice that ended the hostilities of World War I, Ernest said.
Ernest defined Veterans Day, calling it a "solemn occasion, which is dedicated to honoring (veterans), and a time for us to express our gratitude, our thankfulness for the great men and women who have served and are currently serving in our nation's armed services."
Those service members put their lives on the line to secure a life of freedom for those at home in the U.S., Ernest said. However, that sacrifice can end with service members returning with emotional, mental and physical "baggage" caused by their experiences.
Ernest decried individuals who desecrate the U.S. flag and the service members' bloody sacrifices that it represents. Further, he denounced the "unconscionable" fact that 22 veterans commit suicide per day, with his brother having been one of them.
"Because we choose to stand and honor our country, our flag and our veterans, to some we are classified as domestic terrorists or extremists in this country," Ernest said. "I'm a proud American, I'm a proud veteran and I will always stand for that flag and what it stands for."
Following was a POW/MIA Missing Man Table reflection led by Air Force veteran Matz Malone. He explained the significance of the table's imagery, including how the empty table set for one represents prisoners of war or missing in action service members and the single red rose represents their families awaiting their return.
Steve Forte, program manager for the Sycamore Corps and a military veteran, offered a reflection, noting how he sustained an injury during deployment that required brain surgery and still has lasting effects. However, Forte said his time in the service inspired the values he hopes to instill in the Sycamore Corps kids.
"I am a veteran, but I did not pay the ultimate sacrifice," Forte said. "Those are those boys who didn't come back. ... When I think about that, after all these years, I think about the ultimate sacrifice Christ has paid."
The program closed with a prayer by the Rev. Mark Boyd Sr., pastor of Greater Zion Temple Family Worship Center in Steubenville.