As citizens lined up on Armed Forces Drive, the sight of monuments located within the Veterans War Memorial located in downtown Elizabethton brought a patriotic mood Friday.
A yearly tradition, the City of Elizabethton held their Veterans Day ceremony inside the park, decorated with American flags and wreaths, and were joined by a bevy of attendees, including local officials, students from Harold McCormick Elementary School – who passed out thank you cards to veterans — and State Sen. Rusty Crowe.
Elizabethton Mayor Pro-Tem Bill Carter served as the master of ceremonies during the event, and thanked each of the veterans in attendance for their service to the country and for those that have passed on.
“We appreciate you being here,” he said. “We want to thank you, your families, your spouses and loved ones for what they’ve given to this country.”
After missing last year, Rick Walters was the guest speaker for this celebration of veterans. Known as a businessman in the region, Walters said during his 25 years living in Elizabethton – 24 were spent serving in the National Guard. Walters, who also serves as commander of the American Legion Watauga Post 49, provided attendees with a detailed look at the way life was 10 years ago as he served with the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment in Iraq.
Described as 5,000 soldiers from East Tennessee, the soldiers worked in the country by constructing schools and hospitals to help citizens.
Walters, now retired from the military, added the similarities of serving overseas to being back home in Elizabethton after a chaplain recited Samuel Doak’s Sermon & Prayer from September 1789 preceding the battle of Kings Mountain.
Along with providing insight into his travels, Walters provided a powerpoint presentation that depicted different scenes throughout the country – ranging from the 600,000 Christians in the country, to showing a handful of the 40 palaces former dictator Saddam Hussein used to live in while evading forces.
But while going through the presentation, Walters added a phrase that hits close to veterans near and far.
“Evil can only exist when good men fail to act,” he read.
And the forces were able to provide that goodwill. Walters added that 10 of the 5,000 lost their lives in conflict, adding that he will never forget his time of service.
Loretta Bowers provided a soothing rendition of patriotic tunes to help spur the patriotic feeling Friday, while the Honor Guard of Post 49 provided a 21-gun salute before the conclusion of the event.