Veteran speaks to Rotary to honor veterans

Jerry Camp, front row center, president of the Kilgore Rotary Club, honors all veterans who attended the Kilgore Rotary Club meeting this week. Rotarians will not meet on Veterans Day this Wednesday, so the club honored the veterans a week early. Those in attendance were: front row, from left, Bob Martini, Paul Bolt, Dale Sistrunk, Jimmy Mankins Sr., Gore Kemp, Richard Rorschach and Bob Caster; back row, Dan Ballenger, Tim Capps, Nick Hearne, Claud Wallace, Jimmy Honzell and Charles Spradlin. Dale Sistrunk, local school board member and an Air Force veteran of 23 years, was the guest speaker for the Kilgore Rotary Club on Wednesday.

Sistrunk spoke on behalf of all veterans as the club honored its veterans a week early since the group will not meet on Veterans Day, which is Wednesday.

All branches of the military were recognized and represented during the meeting. Approximately half of the crowd are veterans, and most took part either in World War II, the Korean Conflict or Vietnam.

Tim Capps was the youngest veteran to be recognized, while Gore Kemp, Jimmy Mankins Sr. and Dan Ballenger were among the oldest veterans present.

Sistrunk explained Veterans Day is Nov. 11 and honors all who have served the country in the military. Memorial Day, held the last Monday in May, honors those who have given their lives in military service.

Before it was called Veterans Day, Nov. 11 was recognized as Armistice Day, the day the Germans ended World War I by signing a peace armistice at 11 a.m. on the eleventh day of the eleventh month. Memorial Day is also known as Decoration Day in some places, when graves are decorated to remember those who have gone before us.

Sistrunk said it is important for young people to serve their country for several reasons. First, they gain a respect for the country in which they live and the freedoms they enjoy and, second, they have a chance to mature and gain a vocation in the two years they give.

Sistrunk said he was part of the draft when he entered the Air Force in 1960. As late as the mid-1970s, young men were still required to register for the draft but the force has since become an all-volunteer unit.

Sistrunk said he has a lot of respect for all of the veterans who were in the room, adding that each gave up time away from home to serve their country and keep all Americans free. He also said some of them went into combat and risked their lives so that we can enjoy the freedoms we have today.

The guest speaker said it is important to realize Veterans Day is not just a holiday from work or school but is an important day to remember those who have fought for America’s freedom.

In other Rotary news, flags will be put out Tuesday and remain until Thursday in honor of Veterans Day. The next flag holiday will be Presidents Day in February.

Sammy D. York was recognized for five years of perfect attendance and Claudia Miracle was recognized for two years of perfect attendance.

John Lockman said the fish fry is Saturday, Nov. 14, and asked Rotarians to sell tickets and get the word out so the event will be a success.

The club will not meet this Wednesday, but the Kilgore Rotary Club meets most Wednesdays at noon in the ballroom of the Meadowbrook Country Club and guests are always welcome.