This custom is known as the 21-gun salute, a deep-seated military honor which is used to pay tribute for many occasions. The shots rang at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11.
This time and date, the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, represents the signing of the First Armistice at Compiègne in northern France, marking Allied victory against the Germans in World War I.
Veterans Day.
An hour earlier, community members gathered to celebrate the community’s annual Veterans Day ceremony at the Monroe County courthouse, a tradition that began more than 45 years ago.
The ceremony officially began promptly after the 11 chimes of the courthouse bell at 10 a.m.
Col. Turner Nolan, an army veteran of the Korean War, kicked off the ceremony with the schedule of events. He was also the ceremony’s coordinator and emcee.
“This year we really wanted a personalized tribute for the WWII vets,” Nolan said. “Without them, none of us would be here today.”
Of the ceremony’s 105 minutes, 54 were dedicated to the six WWII veterans seated in the front row, an honor designated to them and their families.
During a retelling of their stories by Turner, each serviceman stood before the audience and was welcomed by three officers of the 2-150 Field Artillery Battalion. Each vet received his own standing ovation and applause.
“I am honored and humbled to be standing before these men,” Nolan said. “We have something to be thankful for today.”
The emphasis of the ceremony was on the WWII vets, but they’re not the only ones who were recognized. James Arnold, a veteran and the fiscal officer for the American Legion Post 18, presented a ceremony for those classified as prisoners of war or missing in action.
In his speech, Arnold asked that the crowd observe the elements atop a small dining set before them. Each of the elements were made to represent something about the POWs and those MIA.
Opening and closing the ceremony were songs of patriotism. In chorus, the audience sang the national anthem and “God Bless America.”
Organization for the event began in September, but changes were made so frequently that organizational efforts were continued even while the ceremony was taking place, Nolan said.
Several groups helped to set up the event. Among them was the American Legion Post 18 and its subsidiaries and the American Red Cross.
Veteran Tom Triplett finished his service in 2009 but continued to aid others just one year later when he became the ARC’s Indiana service armed forces manager.
His duties at the event included providing food and drink to those in attendance and handing out wreaths toward the end of the ceremony.
“The wreaths are meant to honor vets from different wars as well as the service organizations that helped out today,” Triplett said.
At the end of it all, the ceremony visibly affected several people, including Linda Summitt, a volunteer for the American Legion Post 18’s auxiliary group.
In 2012, Summitt lost her husband, a veteran, to cancer. She also remembers two of her uncles coming home in body bags in her younger years. A third uncle came back shell-shocked from what he saw.
“The whole thing is very emotional,” she said. “These people risk their lives to protect us. We can give them this day.”
