Thank you for your service.
Those five words were heard repeatedly in Emporia, the founding city of Veterans Day, as the holiday again packed the community schedule.
A large parade with around 60 entries along Commercial Street was followed by the annual memorial service at the All Veterans Memorial. Retired Lt. Colonel Kevin Hadley urged veterans to engage with their churches and their communities as a whole.
American Legion Post 5 Commander Ed Rathke, a Vietnam veteran, spoke of his family’s military history, including five uncles, all who served in World War II, all who returned home except for one.
Tuesday’s service included the national anthem, pledge of allegiance, a brief list of local veterans killed in action during Vietnam…
…as well as Taps and a gun salute.
The ceremony ended with a brief update on work at the All Veterans Memorial from Tablets of Honor organizer Frank Lowery, including a recent repainting project and tentative plans for another.
Plans are being discussed to repaint the helicopter, although there have been discussions with potential partners that want to take the chopper down from its pedestal or remove it outright for that project. Lowery says neither will happen.
Lowery says Quality First Masonry has handled some stone work around the memorial, and a small wooden bridge has been stained and sealed after a Boy Scout Troop 157 project. Lowery also says the Tablets of Honor’s 15th tablet is getting full, with over 50 of the 80 available slots now claimed.
Activities then shifted to the Legion for lunch before a free screening of the movie “Top Gun” at the Emporia Granada Theatre.
Veterans-related activities will continue at Emporia State University this upcoming Saturday for Salute to Service 2025. Saturday will start at 9 am with an open house for the Bloomer Veterans Hall of Honor and recently renovated Student Veteran Center, followed by a talk from US Air Force Lt Col. Fran Oleen, currently a district director for the US House of Representatives and a former deputy attorney in the Kansas Attorney General’s Office. Oleen’s talk will be at 10 am at the Plumb Hall lawn. ESU’s military veteran contingent will get a complimentary lunch from the ESU Alumni Association during Live at the Hive activities at 11 am ahead of the football team’s game against Fort Hays State. Registration is required for the lunch at emporia.edu/salute2025.
Click here for a YouTube Short of the Emporia Veterans Day parade.
Click here for a YouTube Short of the Emporia Veterans Day memorial service.
Photos by Tagan Trahoon and Chuck Samples/KVOE News
