'May no military servicemember ever be forgotten'

There was coffee and donuts in the lobby of the auditorium at Howell High School in Michigan on Thursday for the veterans invited to the school’s Veterans Day ceremony. The members of the school’s Air Force Junior ROTC program served as guides, directing the veterans from the parking lot to their seats in the auditorium and handing them commemorative poker chips.

But it was the envelopes the ROTC members handed to the veterans that made the biggest impact. Inside each envelope, a handwritten letter thanking the veteran for their service.

“They put a lot of thought process into it,” said Brian Gillette, past adjutant for Deveraux American Legion Post 141 in Howell. “It’s actually an assignment; they all have to handwrite a letter.

“It’s hard to put into words (how much this means to get this letter),” added Gillette. “Their appreciation feels from the heart. … It’s a beautiful thing they do.”

The event at the high school was part of a morning of Veterans Day activities in Howell, which included a ceremony at the Livingston County Courthouse emceed by Post 141’s current adjutant, Roger Deaton.

“November 11 of each year is a day we ensure veterans know that we deeply appreciate the sacrifices they have made in allowing us to keep our country free,” Deaton told the veterans, community members and ROTC members gathered around the city’s veterans memorial at the edge of the courthouse lawn.

State Senator Lana Theis, one of the speakers at the courthouse lawn ceremony, expressed her appreciation for the veterans. Her husband, Samuel, served in the U.S. Navy.

“We are grateful, America is grateful, Michigan is grateful (for your service),” Theis said. “My children live free … because of you.”

State Representative Bob Bezotte, a U.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam War, said, “It’s a privilege to be joining others who have served to protect our freedoms and our way of life.”

He added, “Time and again throughout the history of our great nation, military heroes have stepped up, leaving behind their homes and their families to serve their neighbors and their communities. This is the sacrifice that was made, and this is what sacrifice truly looks like.

“We’ll never be able to fully repay our men and women in uniform (for their service). But we must always try.”

Those gathered observed a moment of silence as the courthouse bell tolled 11 o’clock. The Marine Corps League fired a 21-gun salute, and Post 141 Commander Bobby Brite and 1st Vice Commander Armando Ramos lowered the flag to half staff in tribute to those who gave their lives.

Earlier, at the high school, a panel of veterans including Deaton, Brite, Post 141 Chaplain Mike Schlaack, past post commander Jim Grimes, and others answered questions about their service posed to them by ROTC members, in front of an assembly of students.

Among the questions: why did you enlist?

“I was in college in 1966 but I was troubled by the fact … that a lot of young men were being drafted and sent to Vietnam and I was sitting in a classroom,” said Denny Robeson, a U.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam War.

The panel was also asked about their fondest memories of the service. For Grimes, there was one: “the day I got home from Vietnam.”

Following the event at the high school and the ceremony at the courthouse, veterans and guests gathered at Post 141 for lunch and camaraderie. Outside on the post’s lawn, meanwhile, stood 22 white crosses — a stark reminder of the 22 veterans a day who die by suicide, an echo of the sentiments Deaton shared at the courthouse ceremony.

“May no military servicemember go unloved. May no military servicemember walk alone. And may no military servicemember ever be forgotten.”