City celebrates Veterans Day with parade and program at Jawbone Park
Mayor David McCauley Veterans’ Day Remarks
Monday, November 11, 2019
Jawbone Park, Buckhannon, WV
Good morning honored members of VFW Post #3663 & Frank B. Bartlett American Legion Post #7, distinguished guests, ladies & gentlemen. On behalf of our entire City of Buckhannon, our City Council & City employees- I welcome you all to your Jawbone Park & our Buckhannon Walk of Valor. On this glorious day, our community honors all of our veterans of military service. It’s been my distinct honor to greet you on Veterans’ Days, Memorial Days, Flag Days, & other celebrations of your military service during my 37 years of serving our town. I’ve shared my pride for my dad who passed away last year having served in the U.S. Army in the Philippines as part of the force occupying Japan with Gen. MacArthur.
Our B-U community regularly celebrates & honors our wonderful veterans in many ways. In addition to our walk of valor, our City honors our veterans with Flags for the Fallen in Heavner Cemetery that are installed during Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, & Veterans’ Day. If you haven’t been to our cemetery to see these flags displayed, please do so, it’s an amazing sight. Our Veterans’ chapel in Heavner Cemetery displays by branch of service those who’ve protected us. We celebrate Larry Brown Flagpole Hill there, too. Our Veterans’ Affairs Council established in 2017 & chaired by Mary Albaugh also has been very active in touting the heroism of our veterans in our schools & throughout our community. Special thanks to Bob Post, too. Our children must be made aware of the service of those who came before them to fully appreciate their freedom & liberties- to know that all that we enjoy in this great nation has been made possible by our being having been protected by our veterans of military service. The high quality of life that we enjoy in the United States didn’t just happen- rather it has been fought for, & vigilantly protected for more than 243 years now.
Let’s continue to advance together our project with the alley-ways around the VFW & American Legion facilities which should be designated as Veterans’ Way in honor of our B-U Veterans. I’d love to see fully paved alleys, improved & safer access to VFW & American Legion facilities with better illuminated sidewalks, & American flags adorning the entire block from Main Street to Friendly Way. Let’s install patriotic murals on the exterior of your buildings- those walls offer up terrific canvases. That area is sacred ground & all who enter there should come to know it as such. Our City is committed to continuing to work with VFW & American Legion reps to make that happen, & I’d love to see it completed for dedication by Memorial Day 2020. Our City of Buckhannon loves & supports our veterans!
I’ll close my greeting by sharing the words of Elmer Davis, who was the director of the Office of War Information during World War II- Mr. Davis said, “This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.” We thank you, our B-U veterans- our most brave. Enjoy… YOUR day!
Mayor David McCauley