Latest news with #Veteran'sDay
Yahoo
an hour ago
- General
- Yahoo
Muskegon event to commemorate D-Day with ship tours, reenactment
MUSKEGON, Mich. (WOOD) — A ship that was at Omaha Beach on D-Day will be the backdrop for an event to commemorate the anniversary of the invasion of Normandy. The USS LST 393, built during WWII, is one of only two remaining landing ship tanks out of more than 1,000. The ship is now located on the Muskegon waterfront and is the only one that the public can tour from top to bottom. 'LST 393 was born, launched on Veteran's Day 1942 and fought very hard during WWII,' said John Stephenson, one of the board of directors for the USS LST 393 Veterans Museum. 'She was in three invasions: Sicily, Italy and she was in the Normandy invasion, D-Day. In 1945, she was sent back to the United States to be overhauled and she was going to be in the invasion of Japan. Fortunately, after the bombs were dropped, there was no invasion of Japan and she was put in the mothball fleet.' Stephenson said the ship was then found by Muskegon commercial docking group West Michigan Dock and Market, and served as a freighter carrying new cars between Michigan and Wisconsin for 25 years. On June 6 and 7, the will host the 11th community-wide remembrance of the sacrifices made during the invasion of Normandy and throughout World War II. 'Air Raid Muskegon' will feature ship tours, a free film screening on the ship's deck, 'Andrews Sisters Tribute' singers, WWII reenactors representing military personnel you would have found on D-Day in 1944, food trucks and more. 'During the event we commemorate the service of the soldiers and the sailors and the airmen who fought hard to free Europe and us from the grip of Nazi domination,' Stephenson said. On Saturday, Medal of Honor recipient will give the keynote address and be on hand to greet the crowds. Proceeds from ship tours, which will be discounted to $10 per person Saturday, will benefit the museum, which is a nonprofit run almost exclusively by volunteers. 'We are not just a museum about war, we are a museum to serve veterans,' Stephenson said. 'Every dollar goes back into the ship. The rest of the money goes to veteran organizations that really need our help.' You can find the full schedule of events for 'Air Raid Muskegon' . Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Ceremony honors fallen military veterans
ELKHART — A Memorial Day ceremony at Rice Cemetery on Monday honored the lives of military members who made the ultimate sacrifice. 'The freedoms that we currently enjoy sometimes are forgotten,' Mayor Rod Roberson said. 'Sometimes they are treated as insignificant, but it isn't.' Roberson noted the importance of the holiday to honor the service members who have come before. The difference between Veterans Day and Memorial Day is that Veteran's Day celebrates all veterans, Roberson said. City Councilman Aaron Mishler said the day is significant for him and many Americans. His father, who died in 2016, was a Vietnam War veteran and part of him never left the war, Mishler said. Mishler's middle name comes from his father's best friend who died in Vietnam. 'The sacrifices of our veterans is something that carries on with me for my entire life,' Mishler said. 'Memorial Day is a special and sacred holiday.' Mishler previously served as a medic in the Indiana Army National Guard and a nurse in the Army reserves. City Councilman Dwight Fish said he has seen the Memorial Day ceremony now from different perspectives as a council member and as the husband of a 28-year Army veteran. 'She has seen a lot in her career,' Fish said of his wife. 'But a lot of our friends are not around anymore. Our parents, some of her fellow soldiers, are down range, and they are no longer with us because of war and the elements around war, and now we have to honor their memory and the service that they gave us.' The mayor also noted the absence of former Mayor Dick Moore, who served in the Navy. Moore died just a few weeks ago. A parade was scheduled to followed the ceremony. The Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 88 also planned a late morning ceremony at Prairie Street Cemetery followed by a luncheon at the post.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Memorial Day Remembrance Ceremony allows those in Summers County a chance to reflect on the cost of freedom
HINTON, WV (WVNS) – The local community and veterans gathered at the Summers County Memorial Building to pay their respects to deceased service men and women. After years of collaboration, Summers County close to completing first dog kennel This Memorial Day Remembrance Ceremony featured speakers like West Virginia District 10 State Senator Jack Woodrum and West Virginia District 040 Delegate Roy Cooper, who is also a veteran. Senator Woodrum said he is fortunate enough to have known very involved veterans that are now passed like World War I veterans and Curt Messer, who used to speak at Memorial Day and Veteran's Day ceremonies in Summers County. 'Summers County and West Virginia has a very high rate of military enlistment. Most of the conflicts that our country has been engaged in, people in West Virginia have been very involved in those conflicts. So, being able to recognize that, to teach the younger generations about service, about what it means to be an American – those are very important things to me and to the people that show up for this event. Almost everybody here has lost family members or friends in combat. It is important for us to be able to come out and remember them and think about them,' said Senator Woodrum. One theme each speaker kept coming back to was the fact that Memorial Day is not necessarily a celebration. It is a time to reflect on the sacrifices that were made to keep the United States of America a free country. Veterans who are still living were also honored at this event for their service. 'The country cannot forget those who allowed the country to be free and safe for them. So any time that anybody in any community is able to come around and show their gratitude, it means a lot to the veterans. I think it means a lot to the country, too, that they come to realize and pass on to [the next] generations just exactly what it took to make us free and stable in a pretty contentious world,' said Robert Bennett, a veteran who served in the U.S. Navy. Summit Christian Academy joins the WVSSAC Bennett is a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4500. He said if others would like to join on learn more information, they can show up to the Veteran's Memorial Museum of Southern West Virginia in Hinton. Bennett explained that folks should speak with Tim Wheeler there for more information. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Indianapolis Star
26-05-2025
- General
- Indianapolis Star
Memorial Day 2025: What is the holiday honoring fallen soldiers? When is it?
Americans are set to mark Memorial Day, the fifth of 12 federal holidays on the calendar. The holiday honors those who died as a result of battle while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. It has also served a part of the country's "civil religion," according to scholar Robert N. Bellah. "The Memorial Day observance, especially in the towns and smaller cities of America, is a major event for the whole community involving a rededication to the martyred dead, to the spirit of sacrifice, and to the American vision," Bella wrote in his 1967 article "Civil Religion in America." Memorial Day is also colloquially considered the start of summer and is a major travel weekend. Here's what you need to know about Memorial Day. Memorial Day will be observed on Monday, May 26, 2025. The holiday was made a federal holiday observed on the last Monday in May by the Uniform Monday Holiday Act of 1968. The first Memorial Day occurred on May 30, 1868. The holiday was originally dedicated to the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War by the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of Union veterans led by Major General John A. Logan – according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The opening of the order that created the holiday established it "for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet churchyard in the land." Earlier accounts point to people decorating Union graves for Memorial Day in Boalsburg, Pennsylvania in October 1864 and a tribute at the "Martyrs of the Race Course" cemetery on May 1, 1865, according to the VA. The latter occurred when Black freedmen and White "Northern abolitionist allies" honored the 257 Union soldiers buried at the Charleston, South Carolina graveyard. Though Memorial Day and Veteran's Day both honor members of the military, they are differentiated by who they honor. Memorial Day honors those who have died in uniform as a result of battle while Veteran's Day honors all who have served in the nation's armed forces, with the latter holiday particularly focused on living veterans – according to the VA.
Boston Globe
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Nation's vets deserve more than parades and empty promises
Advertisement No, this nation has never been Russia or North Korea, which mark the anniversaries of their military victories with giant displays of their current military might. Get The Gavel A weekly SCOTUS explainer newsletter by columnist Kimberly Atkins Stohr. Enter Email Sign Up Well, not until now, anyway. Now the current occupant of the White House, who has But this June 14, a day originally planned to mark the 250th birthday of the US Army with a festival along the National Mall, Trump has now given himself a Advertisement The Army estimates the cost of the extravaganza at $25 million to $45 million. And if Trump has his way, it certainly won't be the last such display of military might. Earlier this month the president said he would rename May 8 as 'Victory Day for World War II,' a day widely celebrated in Europe as V-E Day. Of course, it wasn't the end of World War II at all, and to say so dishonors the thousands of Americans who continued to fight and die in the Pacific theater until August. And Nov. 11, Veteran's Day, he vowed to rename, 'Victory Day for World War I,' Lost in the shuffle of all that celebrating of long-ago victories and conspicuous displays of current-day military hardware is the nation's ongoing obligation to care for its living veterans, especially those who depend on the government for services they have been promised — care that is congressionally mandated. Advertisement The Trump administration thus far successfully has pushed for The Department of Government Efficiency had planned to cut Veterans Affairs by some The administration insists it is increasing veteran benefits by some 4 percent this year but not necessarily within the VA system. But it's not just personnel on the line. Among the many research contracts halted in Trump's assault on Harvard is a project at Harvard Medical School on assessing the likelihood of A recent investigation by This nation owes its veterans more than pretty words, empty promises, and parades. And it owes them respect for their service whether the wars they fought were won or lost, popular on the home front or not. On this day set aside for remembering those who never came home, let us also vow to provide care and comfort to those who did. Editorials represent the views of the Boston Globe Editorial Board. Follow us
