Events honor Lincoln County Veterans
<p>American Legion Post 97 honor guard with muzzle flash by William Swagger Jr.</p>
<p>VFW Post 1548 member Lorenzo Lamantia readies Old Glory during the Venterans Day ceremony at Libby Cemetery Monday morning.</p>
<p>Patrick Faulkner of Boy Scout Troop 1971, places a wreath as Stella Sharp, left, and Maria Wegner look on.</p>
Vets Day Two
<p>Taps by Ginny Chewning</p>
<p>Larry Pitcher</p>
Four special events are scheduled in south Lincoln County to commemorate the service and sacrifice of the men and women who fought and died to protect the American way of life.
The first event is at 8:30 a.m. in the auditorium at Troy High School. Vietnam veteran Jim Holmes will be speaking to the students and the general public is invited to the assembly.
A special ceremony is scheduled to take place at 10 a.m. at the Libby Veterans Memorial in Riverfront Park. Former U.S. Navy S.E.A.L. commander and current United States Representative from Montana Ryan Zinke will be the keynote speaker for the ceremony. A brick will be placed at the memorial in Rep. Zinke’s honor.
The remembrances continue at 1:30 p.m. in the Ralph Tate Memorial Gym at Libby High School. The assembly will feature three speakers, including two veterans of World War II, Earl Hyde and Loren Kujawa, as well as Wayne Maahs, an area veteran of the Vietnam War.
Libby High School social studies teacher and local historian Jeff Gruber helped arrange the assembly.
“At the High School we try to make the students aware of the sacrifices made that allow them to have the opportunities they do in life,” Gruber said. “Nothing is ever free, and that point should be obvious to them at the assembly. Among the hundreds of Libby residents who have served in the armed forces, the Libby community counts 24 Gold Star veterans. Among the Libby casualties in World War I were Austin F. Reedy who was strafed by an enemy airplane machine gun on July 31, 1918. He became Libby’s first soldier to die serving his country. Libby soldiers in World War I also perished from poison gas, artillery and like many others during the Great War, three died from sickness: two from influenza and one from pneumonia. World War II veterans count 10 Libby deaths, the Vietnam War five and three peacetime. Libby High School will honor all veterans next week but will especially honor those who gave all.”
The final event scheduled Wednesday afternoon will be the Veterans Day Dinner at the Libby Elks Lodge at 5 p.m. Dinner is free to all veterans and their families.
Sen. Chas Vincent, Libby’s Montana State Senator, said the men and women who’ve served in uniform are the foundations upon which our society was built.
“For me, Veterans Day is a reminder that without our men and women in the armed forces, America would not be the country of freedom,” he said. “Nor would we have been the first nation to declare that government exists to serve its people, that all are equal before the law and that each individual has inalienable rights. Our veterans built the foundation of this representative republic and have defended it ever since its creation. When you consider all that our veterans have done and continue to do for us, it is easy to declare that every day is a Veterans Day.”