Several communities in the Dayton area honored veterans Wednesday with special ceremonies. Members of Fairborn’s VFW honored 101-year-old Herman Holt, the oldest known veteran in the city who served during World War II. Around 50 veterans gave visitors a glimpse of what it was like serving their country during presentations at the National Museum of the Air Force.
Cassie Barlow, a retired Air Force colonel and former installation commander at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, said that Veterans Day, to her, is about recognizing the service of veterans, from the oldest to the youngest, "who have all given of themselves,” and many of whom have made the ultimate sacrifice.
“I come from a family of World War I and World War II veterans,” Barlow said. “When I think of the sacrifices they made in their lives to protect and serve our country, it just really motivated me to serve and I see that in many families today, where their grandfathers and grandmothers were veterans and the fathers and mothers were veterans, and then they’re serving as well. It’s about service and today’s about recognizing that service.”
In addition to thanking veterans, Barlow spent time thanking the people who take care of veterans, many of whom have dedicated their entire career to that endeavor.
That, she said, included Dayton VA social worker Carmela Daniels, who went “above and beyond” to make sure an unclaimed Vietnam Veteran received a proper burial.
“She organized a graveside service for a 63-year-old veteran from Lima who had no known family members,” Barlow said. “She acquired the veteran’s ashes and planned the service."
About 150 people from around the Miami Valley attended the gravesite service, she said.
U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, who spoke via phone from Washington, D.C., thanked veterans in attendance for their service in defense of America.
“You have carried on a long legacy of men and women in uniform who represent the very best of country,” Portman said. “We have liberated people all around the globe. We have protected our freedoms here at home and continue to be that beacon for the rest of the world and I’m very proud of this.”
Credit: JIM NOELKER
Credit: JIM NOELKER
More than 9 million veterans are enrolled in the VA, which has 170 VA medical centers and more than 1,000 outpatient clinics across the U.S., Barlow said.
About 322,000 VA employees take care of enrolled veterans, numbers Barlow said, which does not include “all of the dedicated volunteers."
“It is a privilege to represent our grateful nation in delivering veterans the programs and the services they have so richly earned,” Murdock said.
Over the past several years, the Dayton VA has been engaged in “the most significant transformation since World War II” to improve VA services to veterans and their families, Murdock said. That includes the MISSION Act, which he said gives veterans access to care in the community.
That includes expanding the Caregiver Program to include Vietnam veterans, Korean War veterans, World War II veterans injured in the line of duty, he said. The center also is bringing on the second generation of its electronic medical records and is part of a nationwide effort to end veteran suicide.
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