Signature HealthCARE of Chillicothe celebrated Veterans Day by honoring our veterans throughout the week.
On Monday, we took several veterans and other elders to Dayton, Ohio to see the Wright Patterson Air Force Museum which kicked off the week-long celebration.
“It was an Amazing Adventure,” said Ronald Jones, an Army veteran who accompanied us on our journey. During our trip we enjoyed lunch and fellowship at the nearby Burger King.
We continued our celebration on Tuesday with a ceremony celebrating all our veteran elders. We had stakeholders and family present for many of our elders, and following the honorary ceremony, they enjoyed a time of socializing and remembrance.
The ceremony was led by Malissa Combs, Quality of Life Director, and featured Richard Carey a restorative aide and fellow veteran who served in the United States Army. Richard paid tribute by reciting several stories and poems he had collected for the event throughout the years. Malissa then read the poem written by Robert E. Johnson, Jr. followed by a moment of silence and prayer for those who served and sacrificed, as well as for those currently serving our great nation. A ceremonious rendition of Taps rounded out the awe-inspiring celebration of our veterans, which left a spirit of heartfelt reverence for all who attended.
On Wednesday, the veterans were honored by the young men and women of the Paint Valley ROTC program and treated to breakfast by a wonderful group of teens who counted it an honor to serve the veterans, and to thank them each for their service. Ronald Arledge, an elder who served in the United States Navy in Vietnam, got choked up as he said, “It is great see such wonderful youngsters who just want to serve our great nation. They are our legacy.” Later on Wednesday, we took additional veterans and elders to Frisch’s for lunch. The elders who attended that outing were ones who were unable to go to the breakfast.
Our last celebration took the form of a movie picked by our veterans. We served dinner in the dining room and played the movie Secondhand Lions for the elders.
“What’s better than dinner and a movie,” commented Delbert Beechler, who served in the United States Army during WWII. They really enjoyed the big screen event complete with surround sound. It was a definite hit with all the elders and will be a permanent fixture on our activity calendars in the coming months.
– Malissa Combs, Quality of Life Director