Each year on Nov. 11, Americans pause to honor those who have served in the nation’s armed forces.
Starting today, citizens across the Golden Triangle will pay tribute to those men and women through various Veterans Day events, from parades and luncheons to exhibitions and ceremonies.
Columbus
Retired Command Sgt. Major Oscar Sims Jr., a Columbus native, will be the guest speaker for the recreation department’s fifth annual Veterans Day program beginning at 10:30 a.m. today at the Sim Scott Community Center.
“(Sims) was home last year, and I was telling him about the Veterans program, and he said, ‘I didn’t know that you all had a Veterans Day program,” Greg Lewis, parks and recreation director, told The Dispatch. “And I said, ‘Well we’re always looking for a speaker.’”
Lewis said this is the fifth year the community center has hosted a Veterans Day program, and he hopes to see a strong turnout.
“We just want to make sure that our veterans know that we appreciate their sacrifice and their hard work in protecting our freedom, so that we can continue to live in a country the way that we do,” Lewis said of the event. “It’s very important to let them know, ‘I appreciate you.’”
Also in Columbus, American Legion Post 69 will host its annual parade, with line up beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Municipal Complex. The parade will travel up Main Street and end at the Lowndes County Courthouse, where the wreath laying ceremony begins at 11 a.m.
On Sunday, all veterans, active duty service members and their family members are invited to Post 69 at 108 Legion Drive for a free luncheon of pulled pork and fried chicken. There will be a new membership table at the event for those interested in joining the American Legion.
Starkville
Derek Aaron, director of the Oktibbeha County Heritage Museum, said the museum on Wednesday will host Lucy Senter, who will share her father’s survival story after his plane was shot down in World War II.
Aaron said the family recovered one of his diaries, leading Senter to share the story.
“I really didn’t know what we were going to do for Veterans Day, and she just asked if she could speak at the museum and talk about her father,” Aaron told The Dispatch. “And I said, ‘It’s going to be a pleasure.’”
The event will begin at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at the museum.
Also in Starkville, Mississippi State University will honor veteran alumni through Nov. 17 through the “Student Salutes: A Visual Tribute to MSU Alumni & Veterans” exhibition underway in the Colvard Student Union Art Gallery, open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
The display features original student artwork along with research exploring the connections between the university and the U.S. Armed Forces, an MSU press release said.
A public reception will be held from noon-2 p.m. on Tuesday recognizing the veterans and their service with the theme “Military family support: from home to those abroad.”
Caledonia
In Caledonia, festivities begin Tuesday with the annual Veterans Day Parade. Organizer Mike Savage said the event has been a staple in the town for as long as he remembers.
“We’ve lived out here 33 years, and it’s been going on most every year I can ever remember,” Savage told The Dispatch. “… I think it’s something we need to do for (all the veterans). The veterans deserve this. I can’t honor them enough.”
The parade will line up at 10:15 a.m. at Ola J. Pickett Park before traveling down Main Street, through the Caledonia High School campus and back onto Main Street before ending back at the park on Wolfe Road.
Following the parade, veterans, active-duty service members and reservists are invited to a luncheon from noon-2 p.m. honoring past and present military service at the Caledonia Community Center.
“It’s not just limited to Caledonia,” event organizer Shauna Scarborough told The Dispatch. “It’s the surrounding communities as well. We serve the veterans, active duty (and) reserve, a little bit of everybody. We (cook) enough food to feed 300 people.”
The menu on Tuesday will include a free meal of pulled pork or grilled chicken, sides, dessert and a drink as a show of thanks to those who have served.
“I just feel like it’s a little way for us to say, ‘Thank you,’ and give something back to them – let them know we appreciate them,” Scarborough said.
West Point
In West Point, the city will honor four veterans of the year during the annual ceremony Tuesday at City Hall.
Both veterans themselves, organizer Dwight Dyess said he and Randy Jones, chief administrative officer for the city, had the idea to honor specific veterans in the community roughly 15 years ago, and the event has been a success ever since.
“He and I came up with the idea of having veterans of the year just to emphasize the folks that had gone forward, and not just make it a generic ceremony,” Dyess told The Dispatch.
Beginning at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, veterans honored during this year’s program will include Arzell Huggins Jr., Larry Moore, Billy Buck Staggers and Bill Sugg.
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 30 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
