Veterans Day observance start Friday in Gainesville
Nov. 9—Gainesville will observe Veterans Day next week with events Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Cooke County Marines and their families can celebrate the 248th anniversary of the U.S. Marine Corps Friday night. Cake will be provided, and there is no cost for this event. The event will be at the Main Street Pub in Gainesville Friday at 6 p.m. Call Cooke County Veterans Services Officer Tim Cortes at 940-668-5436 for more information.
Sgt. Kenneth J. Stormer will be the keynote speaker at the annual Veterans Day Celebration Saturday. He is a Muenster resident who received the Silver Star serving with the U.S. Army in Vietnam.
Stormer was born into a military family in the late 1940's. He traveled the world with his family until he was five years old. Then in 1952, they settled in his mother's hometown of Muenster, Tx.
He attended Muenster Independent School District and graduated from Muenster High School. He then attended Colorado State University where he became restless and decided that he would serve his country.
In 1968 Stormer enlisted into the United States Army and was trained as a helicopter maintenance crewman. Once completing his training, Stormer was immediately sent to Vietnam. While in Vietnam, Stormer was attached to an Air Calvary unit and served as an attack helicopter door gunner.
In the performance of his combat duties, Stormer's aircraft was shot down by enemy fire a total of seven separate times including, on one occasion, three times in the same day.
Taking fire on many occasions, Stormer served two tours in Vietnam, received numerous wounds, and was shot during combat operations in Vietnam.
Stormer's personal decorations include the Silver Star Medal for heroism on the battlefield, the Distinguished Flying Cross for heroism and extraordinary achievement in aerial flight during combat operations, the Purple Heart medal with an oak leaf cluster depicting twice sustained wounds by enemy fire, the Air Medal with a V/device for valor or heroism on the battlefield and four oak leaf clusters, the Army Commendation medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Aircraft Crewman's Badge, the Vietnam Service Medal with one star, the Republic of Vietnam Campaign medal, and the Expert rifle badge.
Stormer's Vietnam service has also been written about in numerous published articles, including the book "Low Level Hell" by Hugh L. Mills Jr.
Lifelong residents of Muenster, Stormer is married to his wife Cindy. He has two adult children, Matt and Julie.
The Annual Veterans Day Celebration is presented by the City of Gainesville and hosted by Gainesville Parks and Recreation. The ceremony will be at the Gainesville Civic Center at 5:45 p.m. Saturday.
The observances will culminate Sunday night on the North Central Texas College campus when the North Central Texas Winds perform TRIBUTES — A Salute to American Heroes at the First State Bank Center for the Performing Arts. Admission is free for the 7:30 p.m. concert.
