Ruritan Club, American Legion host Veterans Day program at East Clarendon High School

Posted

The Turbeville Ruritan Club and the Douglas and White River American Legion Post joined together Friday to host a Veterans Day service in honor of east Clarendon veterans.

The East Clarendon High School seniors attended the program, held in their gymnasium, to pay tribute to the men and women who served in the Armed Forces.

Uniform-clad veterans attended the program to pay tribute to comrades and to reminisce on their service in past events like World War II, the Korean Conflict, the Vietnam War, Operation Desert Storm and the global war on terrorism, and also to remember the men and women still serving.

Col. Larry Coker served more than 30 years in the military, five of them as a reserve officer in the U.S. Army. He entered the military June 12, 1942, and returned to civilian life four-years-to-the-day later.

“Russia was still bickering with us, so I kept my reserve commission for the prospects of possible recall of active duty as I was only 25," Coker said. "Sure enough, I was called back to active duty on July 5, 1951, and I retired July 1, 1977 - I've been retired for almost 40 years.

Asked about the current situation of America's military, Coker said that he feels the country is in a bad situation with ISIS."

"Because they want to have only one faith in the world, and that is Islam," he said. "They are criminally actrive, and we have to tell them, 'No, you worship as you wish, but you must let us worship as we wish, because we are a Christian nation.'"

He said that Veterans Day is sort of like Christmas, Thanksgiving, graduation and retirement all rolled in one for him.

Fred Huth served in the U.S. Navy from 1943-46. The 91-year-old said almost all of his high school classmates died in World War II, and that he is the last survivor.

"I am thankful for the opportunity to remember those who gave," he said. "I was not involved in overseas tours: I was sent to special training in Illinois, then sent to a shore station to be in charge of communications. So, I didn't go through what my comrades went through overseas."

"I am thankful particularly to our God because he is the one who got me through it," he said. "I kept asking for transfers overseas but my skipper would not give them to me, which kept me on shore until the war was over, so Veterans Day is a very special day to remember friends who gave their lives and gave so much physically. I don't like the things I see going on in our world today. I am an active pastor and I believe what were seeing in the world today is the ground work for the Tribulation that is spoken of in the book of Revelation in the Bible."

Sr. Airman Julian Coker spent four years in the Air Force. He took his basic training in San Antonio, Texas, then went to electronic school in Mississippi. After serving in the Philippines, he was then stationed in the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia for the remainder of his tour at the Bedford Air Force Station remote isolated radar sites.

“Veterans Day gives us an opportunity to express our appreciation to the vets who gave their time and lives to defend our freedom," he said. "During the Vietnam conflict which I was serving in, we were treated like dirt when we came back from our overseas assignment, many people spat upon us and treated us like dogs but now I'm so happy that people are showing their appreciation to veterans. As far as nowadays, I firmly believe that we should exhaust all means to pursue a victory for the american people.”