Mike Wolanin | The Republic Members of the American Legion Post 24 Honor Guard fire a rifle volley during the annual Veterans Day ceremony at the Bartholomew County Memorial for Veterans in Columbus, Ind., Monday, Nov. 11, 2024.
Seventh grade students from Central Middle School were among the young people handing out “thank you” letters written to veterans during Monday’s Veterans Day service in downtown Columbus.
The estimated 100 Central Middle School students stood behind the estimated 130 adults seated at the Bartholomew County Memorial for Veterans. The hand-written ‘thank you’ letters were completed by students in all three grades at Central.
Robert Sharin, who served at a missile defense base in northern Italy during the Vietnam War era, said he wondered why schools haven’t brought young people to the event in recent years.
“I’ve been coming to this for 20 years, and this is the first time I can remember seeing a large group of kids here,” Sharin said. “And taking the time to write these notes? That was really good. It means a lot.”
One of the key people who organized the field trip was Central English teacher Jennifer Cepeda.
“This is a good event for the seventh-graders because they are at the perfect age to start learning what empathy is,” Cepeda said. “It’s very hard for some of them because many have experienced trauma in their lives. But it’s important for them to realize these are men and women who should be recognized, who should be honored, and who should be revered.”
On a personal level, Cepeda said the service is important to her because she has a son who is a disabled veteran.
In his keynote address, retired Army National Guard Lt. Colonel Kent Anderson talked about maintaining strength and good health.
But then, Anderson used the topic to lead into the main focus of his address – the harmful impact of social media and partisan newscasts.
Rather than political or ideological divisions, Anderson said he believes Americans mostly suffer from information overload resulting in poor behavior and bad manners.
Anderson, a business administrator and local city councilman, described social media and partisan news programs as “mental ‘Twinkies’ that clog our mental arteries.”
“Social media, 24-hour news, the constant drone of inputs from the internet has overloaded many of us,” Anderson said. “Add to this mix the fact that our adversaries in China, Iran, Russia and other places have inserted themselves in your digital lives – whether you realize it or not. We all need to exercise our mental filters better.”
Anderson suggested that veterans “turn off the talking heads of 24-hour news,” and begin serving as a unifier, rather than a divider.
The keynote address garnered the approval of Vietnam War veteran Paul Franke.
“I hope that since the election is over that we’ll be more united,” Franke said. “We’ve been divided for the past several years. I hope we can overcome that.”
Franke’s public service goes beyond his time in the military. He served 10 years as a member of the Bartholomew County Council, as well as 16 years as a county commissioner, before his political retirement at the end of 2012.
In the audience to hear his father give the keynote address was U.S. Marine 2nd Lieutenant Finn Anderson. A recent graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Lt. Anderson is currently undergoing training in Pensacola, Florida to become a pilot.
“I think (his father) hit the nail on the head,” he said. “I thought the message had a good impact.”
In regard to Veterans’ Day, Lt. Finn Anderson said the public should always remember why Americans serve in the military, and who they are serving.
The young lieutenant said everyone in the country should always give everybody the ability to say what they want to say.
Patriot Award recipient and Air Force veteran John Foster returned as master of ceremonies, while the Rev. Steve Yeaton wrote and delivered the invocation and benediction.
One traditional feature of the service is the placing of the wreaths at the memorial. In recent years, this has been carried out by the Gold Star Mothers, the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the American Legion and VFW auxiliary presidents.
Another traditional feature is the Southern Indiana Pipes and Drums, who provided bagpipe music before and after the service. The singing of the National Anthem was performed by Matthew Pillar this year.
The Three Rifle Volleys were provided by the American Legion Post 24 Honor Guard, while Columbus City Band member Michael Schmetz performed “Taps.”
