Veterans Day plans

Nov. 8—(Editor's note: This story contains events submitted to Ohio Valley Publishing. If an event isn't listed, it may be submitted to pprnews@aimmediamidwest.com for free publication consideration.)

OHIO VALLEY — This past Saturday, the annual Veterans Day Parade in Point Pleasant made its way down Main Street while more Veterans Day observances are still planned across the Ohio Valley Publishing area this Thursday, Nov. 11, as organizations honor the sacrifices of those who have served.

Bend Area of Mason County, W.Va.

The Smith-Capehart American Legion Post 140 of New Haven and Stewart-Johnson V.F.W. Post 9926 of Mason will hold a Veterans Day ceremony on Nov. 11. The service will begin at 6 p.m. at the New Haven Veterans Monument, located next to the fire station on Fifth Street.

Ken Vickers of the American Legion will be the speaker. He will give a history of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which is located in the Arlington National Cemetery.

A gun salute by American Legion and V.F.W. members will be featured. "Taps" will be played as part of the service.

Also taking part in the ceremony will be Abby Pauley, who will sing the National Anthem. Pastor Isaiah Pauley, who serves as worship pastor at Faith Baptist Church of Mason, will give the opening prayer. Pastor Patrice Weirick of the St. Paul Lutheran Church of New Haven will close the service with prayer.

The public is encouraged to attend the ceremony. It will be held outdoors and those attending can bring seating.

Meigs County, Ohio

In Meigs County, American Legion Post 39 will once again host its Veterans Day program at the Pomeroy levee starting at 11 a.m., Nov. 11.

This year's guest speaker is Lieutenant Colonel Mark Mitera who served on active duty for a total of 26 years along with another seven years in the Army reserves; served on active duty in the United States Air Force from January 1983 to July 1988 as an Air Force architect; he was also a rifle instructor and he became chaplain and he also served as an active duty.

As an Army chaplain Lieutenant colonel Mitera is now the pastor of the Carmel Sutton Bethany Morning Star United Methodist Church in Racine.

Also in Pomeroy, the Post 39 Ladies Auxiliary Chairperson Joann Newsome will present "In Flanders Field" along with a presentation from Jerry Fredrick on the "Old Ragged Flag" and performance from the Southern High School Marching Band under the direction of Chad Dodson.

Gallia County, Ohio

The Gallipolis Veterans Day Parade and Ceremony will be on Nov. 11, sponsored by the Gallia County Veterans Service Commission. Participation in the parade is open to all veterans, veteran service groups, and community organizations. The parade will be Thursday, Nov. 11 at 10:30 a.m. in downtown Gallipolis and end at the Gallipolis City Park, with the ceremony beginning at 11 a.m.

This year's keynote speaker at the Gallipolis ceremony will be Daniel R. Eakins, administrator Office of Policy and Veterans Programs, Ohio Department of Veterans Services. Eakins is the son of a Vietnam Veteran, raised in Jefferson, Ohio. After the September 11, 2001 attacks in Washington and New York, he enlisted in the United States Army.

During his military career, Eakins earned his commission at Officer Candidate School, served as a tank platoon leader with the 2nd Battalion 34th Armor Regiment, leading his platoon on more than 300 combat patrol missions in Iraq in 2005.

Eakins earned decoration for meritorious service seven times during his career in the Army, including Bronze Star for his combat service in Iraq. He was also promoted to major.

Eakins has served as a veteran policy advocate with the state of Ohio for the last 13 years, 12 of those being with the Ohio Department of Veterans Services.

In both 2011 and 2017, Eakins was recognized as Veteran Advocate of the year by the Ohio chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America and Governor John Kasich. In 2012, he was the recipient of the Governor's Award for Employee Excellence and named Veteran Small Business Champion by the U.S. Small Business Administration in Ohio in 2016.

Eakins is a 1998 graduate of Miami University and currently resides in Columbus.

From noon — 2 p.m., VFW POST #4464 in Gallipolis will have a Veterans Day Luncheon at the post home on Nov. 11, all veterans are urged to attend, public is welcome. Also, from 5 — 7 p.m., American Legion Lafayette Post #27 will have a Veterans Day Fish Fry, at the post home on Nov. 11, all veterans are urged to attend, public is welcome.

River Valley High School's American History and AP Government students are once again welcoming all veterans and the community to its second annual "Remembering Our Veterans Healing Field." This event will be to honor all veterans and will be dedicated to Afghanistan war veterans who perished from Ohio. The display will include 2,465 flags representing the number of veterans who perished from the United States in Afghanistan and also will include 281 larger flags for Ohio Veterans who perished in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The event will also include a wall with names of the veterans who perished in Afghanistan from Ohio, and pictures of the most recent 13 fallen heroes. The event will be located in front of River Valley High School, Nov. 9-11 and will be illuminated at night on Nov. 9th and 10th. Visitors are welcome to drive past the field between the hours of 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

In addition, veterans are invited to the school's assembly on Nov. 10 at 1 p.m. Lunch will be provided by Vinton Baptist Church in the library.

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