A
Salute to America and its Veterans
The Carteret County Veterans Council is
indicating that the 2001 Veterans Day Parade, which will be held in Morehead City on
Saturday, November 10th, is going to be significantly larger than those
conducted in the past. Presently, there are
over 1500 participants and the participant list continues to grow. The event will begin at 11:00 a.m. with the route
of march being Arendell Street (Highway 70) from Saint Egbert's Catholic Church to the
entrance of the Morehead City Port.
The Grand Marshals will be Major General
(Sel) R. M. Flanagan, the Commanding General of all U.S. Marine Corps Air Bases on the
East Coast, and Major General Dennis Krupp, Commanding General of the Second Marine
Aircraft Wing with units at Cherry Point, New River and Beaufort, SC. U.S. Representative Walter B. Jones, Jr., N.C.
House Representative Jean Preston and N.C. House Representative Ronnie Smith will be
special guests. Participating in the event
will be many county and local municipal officials, POW's, numerous active and retired
armed forces members, and the military commanders of many area units.
The cadence will be set by bands from the
Second Marine Aircraft Wing, the N.C. National Guard, Croatan High School, East Carteret
High School, Swansboro High School and the Havelock City Band. Angela Baker will also be honoring our veterans by
singing at the event. There will be color
guards and military equipment from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, U.S.
Coast Guard Auxiliary, Army Reserve, and from numerous veterans' organizations and their
auxiliaries and, in some cases, military equipment and marching units from these
organizations. In the parade we will also see
members from the Carteret County WW II veterans group (ROMEO), the WW II China Burma India
Campaign veterans group, WW II Mariners from Sailor Snug Harbor, and numerous Son's of the
Confederate veterans groups (camps) will be represented.
Also participating will be the West
Carteret High School and Havelock High School ROTC units, the Young Marines from Havelock,
Girl and Boy Scouts, Daisy Troop members, Brownies and Cub Scouts from both Carteret and
Craven Counties, the Boys and Girls Club of Carteret County, and a 4H group. The veterans will also be honored by the presence
and participation of students from Carteret Community College and the Carteret County
Senior Cheerleaders.
Surely it wouldn't be a parade without
Shriner participation. In turn, our local
Beaufort Shriners Club's Mariners will be performing.
Our local antique car club and our military vehicle club will also have many
of their priceless vehicles driving in the parade which surely adds to the uniqueness of
the occasion. The list of participants goes
on and on.
It is not too late to participate or to
help in the event. All are welcome. If interested, please contact Joe McCammond at
(252) 247-9435 or Veterans Services at (252) 728-8440.
On behalf of the veterans, may I extend to
all a sincere invitation to join them at this special occasion to salute America and its
veterans.
National Veterans
Awareness Week
Earlier this
year, the United States Senate Resolution 143 unanimously passed, designating the week of
November 11th–November 17th, 2001 as National Veterans
Awareness Week. The resolution calls for
educational efforts directed at elementary and secondary school students concerning the
contribution and sacrifices of veterans. As
chairman of the Veterans Day National Committee, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the
Honorable Anthony J. Principi, had the VA develop a Teacher's Guide which contains
Veterans Day information and activities for both elementary and secondary classes. This informative handout will assist anyone who is
interested in preparing and presenting Veterans Day lessons and programs in schools, in
youth organizations or at home. If you are a
parent, an educator, or a youth leader, I believe you will find this Teacher's Guide both
informative and useful. For a free copy of
this packet, contact Veterans Services at (252) 728-8440.
The guide can also be obtained from the VA's website at www.va.gov/vetsday.
Golden
Corral Announces Military Appreciation Night
In support of
Veterans Day and in turn, in honoring veterans, on Monday night November 12th
(5-9 p.m.) every Golden Corral restaurant nationwide will be offering a free dinner buffet
with beverage to any veteran, any military retiree as well as active duty military
personnel who visit any Golden Corral. Identification
cards or military uniforms are not required. All
that is necessary is that they identify themselves at the register when they come through
the line.
A salute to
the Golden Corral for this generous and very thoughtful gesture.
2.6%
COLA for 2002
The Bureau of
Labor Statistics recently announced that the 2002 cost-of-living allowance (COLA) increase
for various federal programs, including federal retired pay, Social Security, VA
disability compensation/pension and survivor benefits will be 2.6%, with the first
increased payment being on January 2, 2001.
Calls
to Active Duty
For those
members of the Reserve and Guard, the VA has a Press Release on the street concerning
"Job Protection Reemployment Rights and Protection of Seniority Guaranteed to
Callups". If you would like a copy of
this document, contact Veterans Services at (252) 728-8440. |
