Among the observances for Veteran’s Day Thursday was a ceremony aboard the LST 325.
On a raw, windy day, and the last Veteran’s Day ceremony of the day, the color guard nearly outnumbered the spectators on the deck of the LST 325.
But none of that mattered to Brittani Gentry of Elberfeld, who was there with three year old Grayem Snyder. Brittani and Grayem have been studying about the Star Spangled Banner. Brittani says that at three years old, Grayem can identify fifteen state flags.
For her part, Brittani is looking to history in search of answers about the events of today.
Gentry: “I don’t know. Patriotism is honestly new for me.”
Burger: “So this is your first year of looking into this and attending a Veteran’s Day?”
Gentry: “Oh yeah. Any other time it would have just been another day off. But, to figure out where we were in our current events, I had to look back to see what brought us here.”
It was the 21 gun salute that clearly made an impression on Grayem.
Grayem: “I was scared.”
Brittani: “You were scared. Why were you afraid?”
Grayem: “Because the birds were scared too.”
Many veterans who host and attend Veteran's Day ceremonies say they appreciate it when families take the time to come out and honor their sacrifices. That means that even though the crowd at this ceremony was small, two first-time attendees looking for answers to today's problems in the sacrifices of the veterans made all the difference.
