Albany Tech honors nations' military veterans during Wednesday ceremony

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ALBANY – Albany Technical College kicked off Veterans Day observances ahead of the holiday on Wednesday with a program recognizing those who have served in the country’s military.

The Veterans Day holiday will be observed this year on Monday.

During the Wednesday program, the audience heard a rendition of the “Marines Corps’ Hymn” and “Amazing Grace,” played on the bagpipes by Col. Dan Gillan, retired.

During remarks as the event’s keynote speaker, Maj. Gen Keith D. Reventlow, commanding general of Marine Corps Logistics Command, gave a brief history on the origins of the holiday.

“(It) first began as Armistice Day, dedicated to honoring those who served in World War I,” Reventlow said. “On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, the guns fell silent.”

That is why Veterans Day is now observed on Nov. 11 (11-11).

Twenty-one years after the “War to End All Wars,” as World War I was known, the U.S. entered World War II after the attack on Pearl Harbor by Japanese kamikaze pilots. Five years after the end of World War II, the Korean War started in 1950 as a conflict between the U.S. fighting with the nation of South Korea against North Korea.

“It ended three years later in a stalemate,” Reventlow said.

In 1954, President Eisenhower signed into law the designation of Nov. 11 as Veterans Day.

Since then the United States has fought one very unpopular war in Vietnam that stretched out for nearly two decades.

That war was broadcast into homes every night “and caused the country to turn against service members” who served during that period, Reventlow said. Since then, U.S. residents have taken a more positive attitude toward service members who served in wars since that time.

“I’d like to take a moment to remember Gold Star families,” Reventlow said, referring to family members of those who died while serving in the military. “We honor those families and their sacrifices. We honor disabled veterans.”

Staff Photo: Alan MauldinAlanMauldin[email protected]
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