It’s Veterans Day on Monday, November 11 and here in the Mountain State, there are tons of great ways to say thank you and to salute our nation’s veterans. Here’s just a few places to honor Veterans Day this weekend.
Visit the West Virginia Veterans Memorial in Charleston. Located at the Capitol Complex, the West Virginia Veterans Memorial is a two-story oval-shaped monument honoring more than 10,000 West Virginians who made the ultimate sacrifice in twentieth-century conflicts. Composed of four limestone monoliths surrounded by a reflecting pool, the interior walls are faced in polished black granite etched with the names of these men and women. While on the Capitol grounds visiting this sculpture
designed by P. Joseph Mullins, be sure to stop into The West Virginia State Museum at The Culture Center.
Celebrate Veterans at the WVU stadium. The Mountaineers will be having a special salute to veterans at the WVU football game against Texas Tech on Saturday. Kickoff is at noon. If you can’t make the game maybe you can catch the Morgantown Veterans Day parade at 6 p.m. on Monday, November 11.
Take a road-trip to Rowlesburg. The city of Rowlesburg is home to The Greatest Generation World War II Museum that is located in the old high school, now known as the Szilagyi Center. The exhibit has 1940s wartime scenes with soldiers, exhibits, and artifacts from both Allied and Axis. The museum is open by appointment so call before you go (304.329.1240 or 304.454.9232).
The city of Nitro, home to the WWI ordnance plant that was producing 700,000 pounds of gunpowder per day during the war, is hosting two ceremonies honoring veterans. The first is at 5 p.m. on Sunday, November 10 at Nitro’s Veteran Memorial with featured keynote speaker U.S. Air Force Brigadier General Christopher Walker. Walker is currently the Assistant Adjutant General of the West Virginia Air National Guard. The second ceremony is a morning flag-raising at 7:30 a.m. Monday at the flags at Nitro’s Veteran Memorial.
West Virginia’s only living Medal of Honor recipient, Hershel “Woody” Williams, as Quiet Dell native, will be one of the grand marshals for the 2019 New York City Veterans Day Parade. Williams, 96, a World War II U.S. Marine Corps veteran, will be one of five grand marshals representing service from World War II to the present day. Watch the parade online on the WABC-TV website at (abc7ny.com/veteransday/) starting at noon. Monday’s parade will have 300 marching units and more than 25,000 participants from nearly 30 states, including veterans, military members, service organizations, youth cadets and top high school marching bands.
Image by Jennifer Ditscheit from Pixabay
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