A lunch of hot stew and biscuits is served after the Veterans Day ceremony at the John Day Elks Lodge on Nov. 11, 2023.

JOHN DAY — A group of steely-eyed veterans waited in the parking lot of the John Day Elks Lodge on Saturday, Nov. 11, flanked by a gun salute detail and representatives from various veterans service organizations throughout Grant County.

They were all there to tell the 747 military veterans who live in Grant County one thing: Thank you and welcome home.

The ceremony at the Elks Lodge put a cap on a week’s worth of festivities honoring Grant County’s veterans that culminated on Veterans Day.

Festivities got underway with a pair of veteran-appreciation lunches at the John Day Senior Center, on Nov. 6 and Nov. 9. Right around 60 people attended the first lunch, and close to 100 came for the second. Both meals were free for veterans and their spouses.

On Nov. 9, the senior center was decorated with a display of quilts provided by the Grant County Piecemakers, and the national anthem was sung by Jamie Cernazanu.

Grant Union Junior/Senior High School students provided table service for the attendees, and cards made for veterans by the students were distributed by Principal Jay Hummel.

Lunch consisted of chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and gravy along with green beans. Veterans were treated to cake with white frosting and a berry glaze for dessert.

Rick LaMountain of the Grant County Senior Citizens Advisory Council said that this year’s lunch honoring veterans was the first to be provided free of charge for veterans and their spouses.

“I’d like to see it become a yearly event, but I’m only one member of the board of directors,” he said.

“We thought it would be a great way to honor veterans — to involve students from local schools in kind of a living history-type educational opportunity to give different generations a chance to get together, learn from each other, give students a chance to break bread with veterans and find out firsthand what (these) great folks have done for their country and our country’s freedoms,” LaMountain said.

Scouts take up flag duty

On Veterans Day, Nov. 11, members of a local Scout troop put up American flags at participating Grant County businesses in the morning hours. The troop placed flags at the Taco Co., Doug’s Motor Vehicle Repair, Subway, Grayback Forestry, the Grant County Education Service District and the Blue Mountain Eagle, among others.

Jolene Floyd with the Scouts said the group has been putting flags out for local businesses for well over 20 years. The tradition started as one of the group’s main fundraising efforts, with businesses paying an annual fee to have flags placed outside their offices.

The Scouts hang flags at local businesses on eight federal holidays, on Sept. 11 and during veterans motorcycle rides.

“This was some of these Cub Scouts’ first opportunity to put up flags,” Floyd said.

“We spent two weeks learning about the flag and the sacrifices of veterans in defending our freedoms and the opportunity we have to live in a free country,” she added. “The kids understand that.”

The Scouts placed the flags at 7 a.m. on Veterans Day and removed them at 4 p.m.

Ceremony highlights service

At 11 a.m., the John Day Elks Lodge conducted its annual Veterans Day ceremony. Due to ongoing work at the Seventh Street Sports Complex, the venue was changed from Seventh Street to the parking lot of the lodge.

Members of the Prairie City and John Day American Legion posts and the Grant and Harney County posts of Veterans of Foreign Wars performed a seven-gun salute, and Laura Kuffler played taps on the bugle. Attendees then sang “America the Beautiful” before a chaplain led the group in prayer.

Dennis Flippence, exalted ruler of the John Day Elks Lodge, gave a speech detailing the history of the Elks. “God Bless America” played over a loudspeaker following the speech.

Elks officers gave an overview of the history of each of the five branches of service (Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard). A separate speech detailing the history of the POW/MIA flag and the National League of POW/MIA Families followed the history of the military branches.

Local veterans advocate and Elks member Bob Van Voorhis spoke about the history of the holiday and its transformation from Armistice Day to Veterans Day. Attendees were invited to a lunch of stew and biscuits at the Elks Lodge following the conclusion of the ceremony.

Other observances throughout the week included free meals for veterans at the Chuckwagon in Long Creek, free haircuts at Chauncy’s Barber Shop in John Day and a Veterans Day dinner at the Prairie City Community Center.

A warmer welcome

Van Voorhis said he couldn’t say when the John Day Elks Lodge started honoring veterans with a ceremony on Veterans Day, but the practice goes back as long as he can remember. Van Voorhis also took issue with the census data’s tally of 747 veterans living in Grant County, saying the total is likely much higher.

“Well, that’s a census number,” he said. “You have a number of veterans that will not or do not self-identify. According to the county veterans services officer, we’re probably closer to about 1,200. I think it’s over 1,000.”

When asked how veterans feel about being honored on Veterans Day, Van Voorhis, a Vietnam veteran, said such feelings are not universal but tend to vary depending on when someone served. Veterans from his era, he noted, got a very different reception than those who served in earlier and more recent conflicts.

“Your feelings about coming and being recognized and everything else are going to be different than a large majority of the Vietnam vets — and I don’t mean just Vietnam itself, but Vietnam era — that would come home, get out of the service and be told, ‘Don’t be wearing your uniform,’” he said. “To see the recognition nowadays, it means quite a bit to a lot of us.”

Van Voorhis said a large part of the reason why he and other Vietnam-era veterans have dedicated so much time and energy toward supporting veterans is to prevent the same type of thing they experienced from happening to other veterans.

“I think the Vietnam-era vets during the first Gulf War, as a group of veterans across the nation, decided that you guys are not coming back to what we did,” he said. “We are going to do everything we can to let you know you’re welcome home.”

Van Voorhis urges everyone, even non-veterans, to get involved.

“There are so many ways,” he said. “You don’t have to be a veteran to help.”

Veterans Day history

Nov. 11 was designated Armistice Day through a congressional resolution in 1926 to commemorate the treaty that ended World War 1 on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. It became a national holiday in 1936.

While Armistice Day was intended to honor veterans of “the war to end all wars,” efforts to honor all American veterans began following the end of World War II. The first celebration of Veterans Day was organized by World War II veteran Raymond Weeks and occurred in Birmingham, Alabama, on Nov. 11, 1947.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1954 signed a bill passed by Congress officially proclaiming Nov. 11 as Veterans Day.