Veterans Day activites planned Wednesday

    Veterans Day will be observed across the United States Wednesday, and Washington has the honor of hosting the highest-ranking American Legion official in Iowa, Commander Marlin Tillman. Tillman, who lives in Shenandoah, will speak at a dinner for veterans at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Iowa National Guard Readiness Center in Washington.

    The National Guard Readiness Center is located at 501 Highway 1 South. All veterans, their spouses and friends are welcome to attend the dinner, which is a free-will offering. 

    Wendel Guy, who is the Commander of the American Legion Post No. 29 in Washington, said of Tillman, ?He?s a very good speaker and he?s a very personable man. Of all the veteran organizations in Iowa, we?re lucky to get him.?

    The dinner is certainly not the only event taking place Wednesday. The day begins with World War II veterans Tom Tanner and Don Nicholson speaking at the Blair House from 10 to 11 a.m.

    Guy said that he is very pleased to have veterans who are willing to share their wartime experiences.

    ?Some of the older veterans never told their families or their wives what they went through,? said Guy. ?But they [Tanner and Nicholson] are getting to the point in life where they realize that they need to talk about it. They know that they?re carrying within themselves so much history of the United States.?

    Guy mentioned that the two veterans would also discuss their October trip to Washington, D.C., as part of the ?Freedom Tour.?

    At promptly 11 a.m., the F Troop Memorial Cavalry will fire their rifles and taps will be played. This is done at 11 a.m. because that was the hour of the day when Germany signed an armistice with the Allies to end hostilities on the western front on Nov. 11, 1918, marking the close of the First World War. A common refrain referencing the armistice was that it was signed ?at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.? 

    Veterans who participate in the morning observance will visit Halcyon House and also the United Presbyterian Home in the early afternoon.

For the full story, see the Nov. 6 edition of The Washington Evening Journal