A day to remember for veterans

On Nov. 11, I experienced and had the best day in my whole life and that was being a part of Veterans Day in Sedalia.

It started at Smith-Cotton High School, which we all know by now was their first time doing it and from what I heard a single JROTC cadet presented this and pressed forward to make this a day that a lot of us will never forget. I remember years ago when I worked at Wentworth Military Academy as an admissions counselor, and JROTC was in the planning stages at Smith-Cotton.

People voiced strong opposition to this because they thought it was going to make military machines out of these young people. Working at Wentworth with me was Command Sgt. Maj. Randall Woods, and I remember when he left us and came here to S-C. At that point, I considered it to be our loss and S-C’s gain. Look at where the program is today.

On Veterans Day at the high school, you could not walk into the gym without some kind of tear in your eye. To see all the students, faculty and staff cheering for us, the veterans; not only that but the choir, trumpet players and the whole entourage of people present. If they would have made this an event for the whole community to see, they would have had people hanging from the ceilings to watch.

And what can you not say about the parade that Tony Gallagher put together for the first time since way back in the 1980s? People lined the streets and cheered for everyone. What a great moment and something a lot of us will never forget.

All in all, this day will not only be remembered by me but the other 200 to 300 veterans will remember it as well.

Greg Katzing
Sales professional
Sedalia