Veterans from every branch were honored by Calhoun Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol at a ceremony on the Courthouse lawn on Saturday, December 16th, 2023. Senior Members, veterans and cadets laid wreaths at the monument honoring veterans on the corner of the courthouse lawn as Lt. Col Lewis Craddock hosted the ceremony. Those laying the wreaths were C/SrA Kyle Norman, Former Marine Veteran Joe Polland, Former Navy Veteran William Umstead, C/Amn Paityn Roberts, 1st Lt. Jerry Howell, 1st Lt. Emma Howell, Cadet Stephen McCray, SM Roscoe Gainer. Film and Photo were provided by SM Melissa West and 2nd Lt. Shari Johnson. Major Donna Umstead, Commander of the Calhoun Composite Squadron organized the event.
Following the event, members of the Calhoun Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol traveled throughout the County laying 240 wreaths on the graves of Veterans. At each grave, a member of CAP saluted and spoke the name of the Veteran as they honored each with a beautiful evergreen wreath donated to the Wreaths Across American Campaign.
Scroll left or right on the slideshows to see pictures of both the ceremony at the Courthouse and in various Cemeteries.