Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
RETIRED U.S. ARMY Col. John Baynes gives the keynote speech to a packed house at the annual Veterans Day dinner at the VFW Post 3673 in Bessemer.
By CHARITY SMITH
Bessemer - The parking lot was packed and there wasn't an empty seat as nearly 200 people gathered Thursday evening at the Bessemer VFW Post 3673 for a dinner to celebrate and honor those who have served their country.
Post quartermaster John Frello acted as master of ceremonies. An invocation was given by Rev. Matthew Gunia of Trinity Lutheran Church in Ironwood.
Tom DeCarlo presented the colors and the pledge of allegiance was recited, before a long line formed for a buffet dinner, complimentary for all veterans.
Col. John Baynes, a Vietnam veteran from Elmwood, Illinois, gave a keynote address. He recounted a speech he had given earlier in the day at the Bessemer school. He spoke of the skills he had learned in the military, and how he learned to listen and to be a man of integrity. He reminded the audience, "every day is Veterans Day."
Sixteen-year-old guitarist Seth Neil entertained the veterans and their families as they ate. Prizes were raffled off, and all veterans received a card thanking them for their service.
Prior to dinner, a ceremony was held to remember those who were prisoners of war and missing in action. The post had a small table set up in their honor.
The table had white table cloth, a single red rose with a red ribbon around the vase, a lit candle, a slice of lemon on a dinner plate, salt on a bread plate, an inverted glass and an empty chair. Each item had symbolic meaning, according to information provided by Frello.
The small table symbolized the frailty of one POW alone against his or her oppressors. The white tablecloth symbolized purity of the soldiers' intentions to respond to the country's call to arms. The rose in a vase was to remind people of the loved ones of the POWs and MIAs. The ribbon was reminiscent of those warn on the soldiers lapel. The lit candle symbolized the soldiers upward and unconquerable spirit. The lemon symbolized the bitter fate of the POW-MIA. The salt represented the tears of the families as they wait. The chair is empty as the POW-MIA is not present.
