by Geoff Fox
Students and people from the community gathered in the Hancock Middle-Senior High School auditorium last Friday, November 10, to honor those who answered the call of their nation and fought for our freedom.
The annual Veterans Day Ceremony kicked off at 11 a.m., which is the time the Allied powers signed a ceasefire agreement with Germany at Compiegne, France, on November 11, 1918, bringing World War I to an end.
Guests started arriving about 10:30 a.m. as the Hancock Panthers Band started their tune ups. Students started entering the auditorium shortly after.
The colors – the American Flag and Maryland flag – were brought to the front as the band played “America The Beautiful.”
From there, a video of Johnny Cash’s “Ragged Old Flag” played on one of the walls of the auditorium.
After the video, Principal Jennifer Ruppenthal welcomed everyone and thanked the veterans for putting their lives on the line and the sacrifices they made serving our country.
Ruppenthal also told of her family – her father and two uncles – who served in Vietnam.
Her uncle, Otto Phillip Barnhart, was killed during the war in a helicopter crash on April 23, 1969. Barnhart was one of 17 Washington County soldiers killed during the Vietnam War.
Ruppenthal said her father would tell stories about her uncle such as what a good mechanic he was and the trouble he’d get into as well.
Ruppenthal said she never met her uncle as he was killed a year before she was born.
When going through her parents’ house after they passed away, Ruppenthal said she found a box of letters from her Uncle Otto, which she still has today.
A friend also gave her a bag that had his uniform as well.
Barnhart was awarded a Purple Heart, Air Medal National Defense, Vietnam Service, and Vietnam Campaign medals.
“Today is about remembering the many brave women and men that served our country for the price of freedom,” she said.
Veterans Day, she added, is about honoring those who wore the uniforms of the Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Army.
“We can never serve our veterans in the way they have served us, but we can pay it forward,” Ruppenthal said.
She said people can serve the communities, kindness and volunteer, demonstrate respect to one another “that is what we should reflect on as we think of the service and sacrifice of our veterans.”
As we walk along, the person we pass might not be wearing military uniform, but Ruppenthal said in a year or decade or a generation ago, they may have been someone who was willing to lay their lives down for strangers like us.
After Ruppenthal, was finished, President of the Student Government Payton Mosier recognized and welcomed everyone again and recited the Pledge of Allegiance.
Hancock Panthers band then played the “Star Spangled Banner,” 11 chimes of the bells for those veterans no longer alive, and Taps.
Dominick McKee recited “It is the Soldier” poem.
Shannon McKinley then followed McKee by talking about her daughter who is currently serving in the military and singing an acapella version of “God Bless America.”
Following McKinley, the band and school recognized each branch of the military with the “Marches of the Armed Forces” which was playing the song for each branch. Those veterans in attendance stood when their branch was played and were applauded by everyone.
The keynote speaker for the assembly was Samuel “Pete” Vitale of the United State Air Force. Vitale has held many assignments and careers over his career in the military.
Vitale told of his journey through the military, noting his family served in every war since the Revolutionary War through Vietnam.
Vitale joined the Marines out of high school but was short-lived as he was medically discharged after a knee injury.
After getting a medical waiver, Vitale joined the Air Force where he served for 23 years before retiring in 2011.
In his career, Vitale traveled and lived all over the world, seeing amazing and absolutely horrific things.
He told of a time living and working in Honduras, Vitale said there was a Burger King right across from the embassy.
He said there were homeless kids running around who were hustling for money to take back to their handler.
“So to kinda stick it to the handler, I’d take the kids into Burger King,” Vitale said.
Vitale also told of what his career consisted of over the years such as “babysitting” nuclear weapons in North Dakota and going overseas into Air Force Special Operations.
“Unfortunately, a lot of my cool stories are classified, so I really can’t say anything,” Vitale told the audience.
Sitting in the Secretary of Defense’s office many years later, Vitale said he reflected he started out knee deep in snow, 30 below zero sitting next to a B52 and then fast forwarding a few years on a couch in Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s office working on national level policies for the Department of Defense.
One thing Vitale worked on was the Captain Phillips ship incident, which became a movie starring Tom Hanks.
Vitale also worked on an operation where the US military took out Osama Bin Laden, an event Vitale called his favorite.
On his retirement day, Vitale’s wife commented on how few people were at the ceremony.
Vitale told her a lot of the people were busy at the moment, but he couldn’t tell her.
A couple days later, the president announced Bin Laden had been taken out and Vitale’s wife understood what he was talking about.
Over his career, Vitale said he had met with a number of former presidents, had dinner with the Prime Minister of Japan, and worked with ambassadors.
Vitale said he mentioned those things because they were important in support of securing our nation and also helping those terrorized by cartels.
When it comes to defining what it means to be a veteran, Vitale said it’s volunteering to be part of something bigger than yourself and sacrificing personal freedoms for the greater good.
“I’m a protector by nature, so being able to show up where other don’t, won’t, or can’t, and being able to stand up for those that can’t for themselves, and doing it with honor, and doing it with passion,” he said.
After taking a few questions from the audience, Ruppenthal dismissed the audience.
