Veterans Day Ceremonies

[br1078lum]

Todays ceremony at the Vinton War Memorial in Vinton, VA was held indoors due to the cold weather.  Musical selections were provided by the William Byrd High School Brass Quartet, and the Presentation of The Colors was done by the WBHS Junior ROTC.  Judith Cline, Ph.D., Chairperson of the Music Department of Hollins University sang the National Anthem, and the Invocation was provided by the Rev. David Vaughn, Pastor of Thrasher Memorial Methodist Church.

The Master of Ceremonies was Lt. Colonel Dan Karnes, U.S. Army (Ret), and president of the Roanoke Valley Veterans Council.  The Rev. Sandy Webb, Curate of St. Johns Episcopal Church gave the Prayer For Peace.

A Veterans Day Address was given by Major General James Archer, U.S. Army (Ret).  He also presided over the presentation of a Bronze Star to Private John C. Eakins, U.S. Army, for meritorious combat duty in Italy during World War II.  And as a personal sign of his gratitude for Private Eakins' duty, General Archer presented him with a Commanders Coin.

Private Eakins and his familty then greeted guests and posed for photos, and refreshments were served in the next room.


Veterans Day 11-11-11 by br1078phot, on Flickr


Vinton War Memorial Building by br1078phot, on Flickr


Vinton War Memorial by br1078phot, on Flickr
The octogonal pavilion was completed this year, and the inscription on the rock refers to "...a soldier always looks for high ground."  It surrounds a flag over a fountain, and the inscriptions circling the structure read "Here Pause Awhile - To Bless Their Sleep - Who Fell In War - To Save Our Peace - Then Go Renewed - And Build The Lives - They Lost For You - In God We Trust".


Vinton War Memorial by br1078phot, on Flickr


Vinton War Memorial by br1078phot, on Flickr


Vinton War Memorial by br1078phot, on Flickr


Master Of Ceremonies by br1078phot, on Flickr


May He Never Have To Serve by br1078phot, on Flickr


Bronze Star Presentation by br1078phot, on Flickr


After The Ceremony by br1078phot, on Flickr


Bronze Star Recipient by br1078phot, on Flickr


Private Eakins's Family by br1078phot, on Flickr

PF

[radiophoto]

Phil, your outdoor shots are gorgeous!  The colors are so nice, and everything is tack sharp.  Your indoor photos, while not as technically lovely, are nonetheless quite touching.  Thanks for going to the ceremony and sharing these.

I went out this afternoon, long after my city's ceremony, to the place where they had it, and shot some pics of the various memorials.  Will probably have a CD by tomorrow and will post ASAP.  I was trying out my "new" Canon Serenar lens (50mm f/1. that I bought from David Murphy!

EDIT: See note below -- the smiley face with the sunglasses is supposed to read, in toto, f/1 point 8 with closed parentheses.

[br1078lum]

Pete, the indoor shots are what happens with shooting 400 speed film indoors on a p&s camera, and making tight crops from the originals.  I would have loved to have had a D700 with me.

And don't you just love the way point eight becomes a smiley?  Glad you got that lens.

PF

[BillyBob]

Admit it Phil.  That second shot is jut a scan of postcard you bought there!

Nicely done :-)

cheers!
Bill

[br1078lum]

Well, Bill, if I'd had my scanner hooked up I could have posted the lovely hand-made card made by elemetary school students, and given to all the Vets who attended.

PF

[jamesmck]

Nice shots, all, Phil.  I especially like "May He Never Have To Serve ."

JAmes

[radiophoto]

Phil, all:  I have one pic of yesterday's activity and don't want to waste a whole thread on it for myself, so I hope you don't mind me posting it here:


Veteran's Day 2011 by f6point3studio, on Flickr

This is the dedication stone for Sherrill Park in Corpus Christi, named for YN2 Sherrill, USN, who was the first man from CC to die in WWII.  This is where they hold veterans' and other patriotic ceremonies throughout the year.

[br1078lum]

Anyone is welcome to post Veterans Day photos here, Pete.  At first, I thought the shadow was an unfortunate circumstance of the time the photo was taken, but when I see the way it plays on the bushes in the background after scrolling back up the page, it works.

PF

[BillyBob]

Anyone is welcome to post Veterans Day photos here, Pete.
PF

I only took a few this year, and haven't gotten anything developed yet - so here's a couple from last year.

The tomb of the unknown soldier at the cenotaph in downtown Ottawa.  After the ceremony everyone's invited to place their poppy on the tomb.  This was my first try with Kodak Ektar.  I don't know if it's just the scan - but that's pretty saturated color - and even a bit of a blue cast.



Coincidentally there was a fundraising sale of used books at work just days before Remembrance Day - and I happened to pick up a copy of <a href="http://springhs.rockyview.ab.ca/Members/dfraser/social-20-1/related-issue-2/world-war-i/Valour%20Remembered%20-%20Cdn%20in%20WWI.pdf/view">Valour Remembered - Canada and the First World War</a> a publication of Veterans Affairs from 1982.  I knew too little about WWI.  So when Philip mentioned his visit to Beaumont Hamel I recognized the name and the book's entry regarding the Newfoundland Regiment (later named the Royal Newfoundland Regiment) - part of the 29th British Division.  The book reads in part: "Of the 801 men who went into battle only sixty-eight unwounded men answered roll call the next day".  A somber read.



The cenotaph.  From the above publication: "The twenty-three figures in its archway represent all arms of the service".



And a technical note; Ektar's pretty nice!  Here's a bit from a higher-res scan.  For me and my equipment, this is pretty sharp (considering that I don't believe that I was focused on the numbers).



This year they had something that I'd never seen before - a formation flypast of helicopters.  Seven Griffon (Bell CH-146) helicopters in a V formation - with one breaking off to give the Missing Man formation.  Helicopters flying in formation just feels odd - because I'm used to formations of aircraft flying by QUICKLY.  The helicopters do it in slo-mo.  There were also two CF-18's, a P51 Mustang, and a Corsair.  Unfortunately I didn't get any shots of them.

Bill