Veterans Day events abound in Pataskala

PATASKALA – Veterans found themselves the center of attention wherever they went Tuesday in Pataskala.

by Arnaldo Rodgers

Whether it was local schools, businesses or downtown, where the annual Veterans Day ceremony took place, veterans were front and center.

The day started with several area schools recognizing — and literally applauding and high-fiving — veterans.

Licking Heights South Elementary was one of the schools. South held its annual Veterans Day celebration, inviting nearly 100 veterans to an assembly held in their honor.

Prior to the assembly, the school asked the veterans to line each side of the main hallway. The veterans, some wearing their uniforms, obliged, and the students walked between them, shaking their hands, high-fiving them and handing them hand-written thank-you notes.

U.S. Navy veteran Joe Davis was touched by the gesture.

“This is great,” said Davis, whose grandson, Ashton, attends the school. “It’s good for all the veterans. It makes us feel wanted.”

A student, Caleb Taylor, handed Davis a letter as he walked by.

It read, “Dear veteran. Thank you for serving the U.S.A. Thank you for protecting the seas and protecting the air and land. If it wasn’t for you we wouldn’t be a free country or have freedom. When I grow up I’m going to be in the Army or Air Force.”

The school spent the lead up to Veterans Day teaching its students about citizenship and the history of the holiday, South Counselor Darlene Schultz said.

“We talked about America, how we owe a lot to our veterans and how they made a difference,” Schultz said.

The students packed the school’s gymnasium, standing still as the Ohio Society of the Sons of the American Revolution’s Hocking Valley Chapter presented the colors and then applauding as the veterans introduced themselves.

“This is one of the most special and powerful days throughout the year for our boys and girls,” Principal Kurt Scheiderer said.

Elsewhere around the city on Tuesday, countless veterans visited the Nutcracker Family Restaurant, which continued its tradition of serving free meals to veterans on the holiday.

Veterans flocked downtown to take part in the city’s annual Veterans Day ceremony. Held at the Veterans Memorial on Main Street, at least 100 people attended the event.

State Rep. Jay Hottinger was one of the attendees. He gave a short speech, in which he stressed the importance of thanking veterans not only on Veterans Day.

Pointing to the vicissitudes of life, Hottinger said people never know if if they will get future opportunities to thank veterans, whether those veterans be parents, spouses, friends or neighbors.

“Everyday is for our veterans,” he said.

Licking County Commissioner Tim Bubb and Pataskala Mayor Mike Compton also spoke, as did Pataskala City Council President Dan Hayes. Compton rang a newly-installed bell as Bubb and Hottinger read the names of the area veterans inscribed on the bricks that surround the memorial. Pataskala American Legion Post 107 also participated in the ceremony, raising flags representing each branch of the service and offering a 21-gun salute.

Twila Wagner, a U.S. Navy WWII veteran from Columbus, attended the ceremony for the first time with her two brothers, David Thomson and Glen Thomson, a U.S. Army Korean War veteran.

Afterward, Wagner said the event was touching.

“This is a fabulous way to (recognize veterans),” she said.