Veterans and their parents honored at a ceremony – News – Times Record

For the organizers of the Chaffee Crossing Veterans Day Parade, this event is an opportunity to pay tribute to those who served not only by the feast, but also by a ceremony.

The seventh annual Chaffee Crossing Veterans Day parade is held Saturday in the historic Chaffee Crossing District. The parade was preceded by the awarding of medals to two veterans and family members of a deceased veteran.

"This is a very special and sacred part of our day ceremonies," said Lorie Robertson, Director of Marketing, Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority, about the medal presentation.

Robertson said the organizers of the parade this year wish to honor veterans who served during the Cold War period, including the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the presence of the US Armed Forces in West Germany. . She also said that this year's Veterans Day marked the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day during the First World War.

The medals were presented Friday to US veterans Harry McKay and John Schweer and in memory of Army veteran Carl Hearne, all of whom served in the Cold War era. They were distributed through the office of US Senator John Boozman, R-Ark., Who helps to get the lost, destroyed or not received veterans' medals, said Anita Deason of Boozman's office. .

McKay and Schweer both served in the Vietnam War while they were in the army. Schweer received three honors at the ceremony and McKay 14.

McKay, who also served in West Germany, Kuwait and Iraq, said he would have remained in the army but retired at 60. He has also retired.

"So be it, the service is service to the country – I do not need a parade or all that," he said. "I do it more for my children and my wife, because she had to manage everything in my absence." My first tour of Iraq lasted 15 months and I spent two Christmas, I owe him everything. "

John and Ron Hearne, sons of Korean War Veteran Carl Hearne, received two awards on behalf of their father on Saturday. John Hearne stated that his father had not talked much about his time in the army and that he had learned his service only after his death.

"We searched his papers and discovered that he was going to receive medals," he said. "We had no idea, it was only a surprise."

The parade, which drew more than 1,200 participants, according to Robertson, followed the ceremony. Robertson touted the answer to the event.

"It just shows the hearts of the people of the river valley for their veterans," she said. "It shows the kind of appreciation we have."

Robertson and others were equally pleased with the purpose of the event.

"All we do to honor our veterans is a big event," said retired Major-General Don Morrow, who presented the medals on Saturday.