Trending
LAKE MILTON -- John Marteney of Newton Falls expressed the importance of recognizing all veterans, not just the ones present, after his pinning ceremony at American Legion Post 737 on Friday.
Nearly 200 veterans and their families started appearing at 4 p.m. for the dinner, which was held in the building's hall. The pinning ceremony, which featured Daughters of the American Revolution and the Palmyra Historical Society presenting Vietnam War veterans with honorary pins, kicked off at 6 p.m.
Della Evans, a member of both organizations who pinned nearly 100 veterans at the ceremony, explained that her interest in Vietnam stemmed from the fact that she grew up during the war in her teen years.
"I had classmates that went, too. That's all we heard every night on TV. They were drafted, yeah, and some came back, some didn't. And some came back very different," Evans said. "I went to college and my professor said there was one thing that was very different about Vietnam, and that was in the other wars, they came home on boats. They had time to decompress and talk. Vietnam was totally different. (They) would be in the jungles and 19 hours later, you're walking the streets, and it was such a culture shock that affected them and I understood. Suddenly, some of their problems made sense to me."
Evans said that because she was a child of Vietnam, she strongly identifies with them.
"I go out and I find them in the wild, is what I call it," she said. "I go out to diners and things and I see the hat, so I pin them and it's a very emotional thing."
While the Legion has hosted Veterans Day dinners for the past 50 years, American Legion 737 Auxiliary secretary Phyllis Nuzzie said this was the first one they did in collaboration with the Daughters of the American Revolution's Mahoning chapter.
Former post commander Vincent Wloch opened the ceremony with a reading of Joe Biden's 2021 Veterans Day proclamation and former Ohio Governor John Kasich's 2015 resolution declaring Nov. 11 as Veterans Day.
Entertainment following the ceremony was provided by the Midnight Riders Band.