NEW CUMBERLAND, Pa. –
Navy Rear Adm. Grafton D. Chase, Jr., commander of Defense Logistics Agency Distribution, was the keynote speaker at the New Cumberland, Pennsylvania, Veterans Day ceremony held at the West Shore Theater Nov. 9.
The ceremony featured traditional elements, including the presentation of colors by the Legion Riders Color Guard of American Legion Post #143, an invocation and benediction given by US Army retired Staff Sgt. Keith Williams and the singing of the national anthem by resident Tom Boyle.
During remarks Chase noted he hails from a military family as the son of a Navy WWII veteran. He spoke of local Pennsylvanian WWII veteran heroes, detailing their acts of heroism and honoring their sacrifices for the nation, recognizing local WWII hero John Nace, Sr., a US Navy WWII veteran, who served as a Seaman 2nd Class aboard the USS Henry W. Tucker in the North Atlantic and the Pacific.
Chase also recognized local war veterans in the audience, Herbie Kern, an Army Medic during the Korean War and Paul Shover who served in the Marines during the Vietnam War in 1967.
Chase encouraged everyone to remember the many heroes who have gone before us as well as “…those Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen, who gave the ultimate sacrifice, today’s military protecting our freedoms we all too often take for granted, the many Veterans who no longer serve in uniform but who continue to serve in their communities, the DLA Distribution employees, and the many other civil servants who valiantly support our military each and every day.”
The event fostered a sense of community and camaraderie, noted by US Navy veteran Tim Sentz, a member of the American Legion, who reminded attendees of the shared responsibility to support and uplift veterans. Sentz, an advocate for the American Legion’s “Be The One” campaign, asked those in the audience to help end the stigma of veteran suicide, to ‘be the one’ to save one veteran and learn to help a veteran in crisis.