River View holds veteran’s recognition
The Coshocton Honor Guard was part of the veterans’ recognition ceremony held at River View High School between the junior varsity and varsity boys’ basketball games on Friday, Jan. 18. Jen Jones | Beacon
WARSAW – Friday, Jan. 18 was a special night at River View High School. Between the junior varsity and varsity boys’ basketball games against New Philadelphia, the school recognized veterans from the area.
Rod Lindsey, athletic director at River View, said the event is just something that has happened over time. “We want to take the time to honor our veterans. The storm may hamper a few from coming out, but we are very excited about honoring them and we look forward to doing this every year.”
Karin Moran is a teacher at River View High School and has been involved with the recognition ceremony since it started. “This is the third time we’ve been able to do this at River View.” What date the ceremony is to be held is chosen by the ECOL and every other year, the team is at an away game. “We want to recognize our veterans for their sacrifice and what they’ve done for us. We need to do things like this more.”
Coshocton County Honor Guard was part of the ceremony for the first time. Jim Barstow, from Coshocton County Veteran’s Council, welcomed the crowd and each veteran was recognized. Bree Cass, a senior at River View, sang the National Anthem.
Moran said the moment of silence is important to her to show respect for them. “They need to be thanked for what they went through.”
Lindsey added, “After the way some veterans were treated when they came home, it’s the least we can do for them.”
One of the veterans who attended the ceremony was Jerry Haywood. He served with the Marines in Vietnam. “I have to utmost respect for the veterans from World War II and Korea, but what a lot of people don’t realize is they came home on ships. They had each other to talk to during the long trip (about two weeks). Us – we were in the jungle one day and in our living rooms the next.”
“They had time to talk and decompress with people who had been there. We came home and thought everyone around us had changed, when it was really us.”
Haywood was stationed in Quantico, Virginia when he returned and was told not to wear his uniform in Washington, D.C. because of all of the anti-war protests that were going on. “We had to travel by bus to Washington to get our pay straightened out and got caught in one of the marches. It was bad. They were trying to antagonize us and all of us combat veterans wanted to fight. Thank God there were officers on the bus to keep us under control. Their (protestors) anger really hurt.”
“I came home with a hurt knee, but at least I had my leg. So many others didn’t – or didn’t make it home. There are always people who are worse off than you. You just needed to look around to see that. My faith in God got me through the toughest times in my life. It’s hard to think about ‘Why did my buddy die and not me?’”
Haywood said the recognition ceremony means a lot to him. “I’m proud of my service. I just did what I was told to do – that’s the military. It hurt when we came home and no one supported us.”
Category: Education
