[ April 19, 2023 ] The Veterans Memorial Park members hosted the third annual Jasper Middle School Field trip. The members who supported this event were Jim Elrod, Tom McDowell, Scott Riley, Tom Sylvester, Gary Bledsoe, John Martin, Dennis Schmidt, and Ron Wheeler. This event included John White and members of the Talking Rock Black Powder Shooters Club.

We hosted over three hundred fifth graders on Wednesday, April 12 from 9:00 AM until Noon. We had about fifty kids for 20 minutes during the field trip. There were two particularly important presentations given to these kids regarding historical Veteran education and traditions.

John White from the Talking Rock Black Powder Shooters Club presented a timeline of when World War I started, and some of the reasons why it started in Europe. He explained why the United States came into the conflict and how it ended. He discussed the meaning of November 11 at 11:00 am every year when we recognize Veterans Day. John told the kids of all the disappointed people in the world that fought in WWI to end all wars, and how we had to do it all over again 20 years later which was called WWII. He spoke about the American flag and how every veteran is entitled to have one upon their funeral. It is presented to the family as a remembrance of their service. John had memorabilia from these wars and explained each memorabilia to the kids.

Scott Riley from the Sons of American Legion presented the American Flag Retiring Ceremony. The ceremony honors the flag as a symbol of the nation's unity, hopes, achievements, glory, and resolve. The American flag was retired appropriately in a solemn atmosphere during the ceremony.

The presentations performed at the park truly revealed the sacrifices our veterans gave to our country. Our responsibility to these students was to inspire them as the next generation to continue these traditions. They need to know why and how we honor our Veterans.

At the end of the programs, America Flag was given as a gift to the students and teachers