Miller speaks at Veterans Day service
COSHOCTON – The Coshocton County Veterans Service Office had a ceremony on Monday, Nov. 12 at the courtsquare to recognize and celebrate all county veterans. As the church clock chimed the eleventh hour, Pastor Mike Jansen led the invocation, asking God to be with all veterans, those actively serving, and family members of veterans all across the nation.
Sharon Burns, president of the Blue Star Mothers Chapter OH 59, was the guest speaker.
“Thank you to all the veterans here today,” she said. “It is an honor to be president of the Blue Star Mothers and be able to do the things that we are able to do for our veterans and those who are serving.”
Samuel Scott of West Lafayette and a junior at Kent State University sang the Armed Forces Medley and invited those from each branch of the military to stand when their branch’s anthem was sung.
Zac Miller, assistant veterans’ service officer and CW3 with the Army National Guard, was the featured speaker.
Miller was 17 years old when he enlisted in the Ohio National Guard. He has spent the last 18 years in the service. In 2004, he was deployed to Iraq. In 2008, he was deployed again to Operation Iraqi Freedom as a sergeant, and in 2017, Miller was deployed a third time to Iraq, Kuwait, and Syria. He has received numerous awards for his service to our country and returned home from his last deployment in April of this year.
Miller remembers being shot at by the enemy, but says that wasn’t the worst part of being deployed.
“The roughest part was leaving my loved ones back in Coshocton, Ohio,” he said.
His last deployment was the worst as he left his wife and their two children behind. He remembers coming home last April after his final tour of duty as being a surreal moment.
“I was finally back to my family, the family I had missed so much,” said Miller. “I think that was the first time that I shed a tear in 18 years.”
Miller has also lost nine comrades to suicide due to PTSD. He announced that an average of 20 veterans take their own life each day because of PTSD.
“If you see and know of a veteran who is going through a hard time with mental health issues, take them seriously,” he said. “Don’t ignore them. If you’re that veteran, help is out there. Don’t be afraid or too proud to ask.”
Miller ended his speech by saying, “A veteran is someone who, at one point in their life, wrote a blank check made payable to the United States of America for an amount up to and including their life.”
Photos by Josie Sellers
Category: Multimedia, People & Places, Photo Galleries