Veterans Day events set for Friday, Saturday in area
Nov. 7—Multiple organizations and schools in the area will observe Veterans Day with various parades and programs Friday and Saturday.
Joplin Veterans Day parade
The 36th annual American Legion Post 13 Veterans Day parade will be held Saturday.
The parade will start at 10 a.m. and go from 15th and Main streets north to Third Street. It will then turn west onto Joplin Avenue, heading south to the City Hall parking lots between Fifth and Seventh streets.
The parade usually features marching bands, vintage cars, service vehicles, flag and drill teams, and veterans.
Grand marshals for this year's parade are Korean War veteran Ralph Green and Vietnam War veteran Todd Thompson, both having served in the U.S. Navy.
Main Street and Joplin Avenue will be closed that morning for the parade and will reopen by noon.
Galena Veterans Day parade
The Galena, Kansas, parade will start at 10 a.m. Saturday at 11th and Main streets.
After the parade, an open house will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Galena Mining and Historical Museum. Local veterans will visit with the public about their experiences in the military, and there will be a discussion panel starting at 11:30 a.m. There will also be World War II films being shown on an old movie projector.
Events are being sponsored by the Galena Route 66 Lions Club and the Galena museum.
Galena High School
Galena students, faculty and the Board of Education are sponsoring the school district's 27th annual Veterans Day Celebration on Friday. Veterans and their spouses living in or around the Galena School District and veterans related to any students have been invited by the school district to attend.
Activities begin at 8:30 a.m. with a reception in the high school commons area. A program in the high school's Performing Arts Center will run from 9:30 to 11 a.m. with guest speakers, recognition of veterans and other activities. The program is open to the public.
Lunch will be provided to veterans and their guests at the end of the program.
PSU Veterans Day ceremony
Pittsburg (Kansas) State University will present a Veterans Day ceremony from 1 to 2 p.m. Friday at the PSU Veterans Memorial, 1909 S. Rouse Ave.
The event is open to the public. The keynote speaker will be Lt. Col. Jeremiah Hull, a 2001 graduate of Pitt State and a recipient of the Bronze Star. Hull serves in the U.S. Army, and on Saturday, during halftime of the Gorilla football game at Carnie Smith Stadium, he will be promoted to full colonel.
The ceremony also will include the dedication of pavers and patriotic music. In case of inclement weather, the ceremony will be held in the Student Recreation Center across the parking lot from the Veterans Memorial, 2001 S. Rouse, inside the National Guard Armory gymnasium.
A native of Fredonia, he enlisted in the Kansas Army National Guard in 1995 as a combat medic. He was commissioned as an active-duty officer in the Chemical Corps in 2001 from Pittsburg State University after earning a degree in general studies.
He has deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan.
Next summer, he will assume command of the 4th Cavalry Brigade in Fort Knox, Kentucky.
His other decorations and badges include Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Combat Action Badge, German Armed Forces Efficiency Badge and Meritorious Unit Citation.
