The 17th annual Wyandotte County Veterans Day Commemoration will take place at 10 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 4, at the Salvation Army Harbor Light Village, 6723 State Ave., Kansas City, Kansas.
The guest speaker for this year’s program will be Capt. David Thaxton of the Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Department, who is a former staff sergeant in the Kansas Army National Guard 2-137th Infantry, and served in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
This year, the Veterans Day program is presented by the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 6401 of Wyandotte County. VFW Post 6401 and Post 11499 will present the colors at the event.
Jim Jenkins, chairman of the Veterans Day committee, said the program is free and open to the public. A free brunch also will be provided, he added. The brunch is donated by LePeep restaurant of Lenexa.
All U.S. veterans who are present will be recognized, he said. Campaign pins and veteran hat pins will be given to those who served in the major campaigns, with special recognition of veterans of Iraq, Afghanistan and Desert Storm campaigns.
Also part of the program will be the Piper High School Music in Motion, the Veteran’s History Project and commemorative displays.
Doors will open at 9:30 a.m. with the program beginning at 10 a.m.
Besides the VFW, partners and sponsors of the Wyandotte County Veterans Day Commemoration include the Kansas City, Kansas, Women’s Chamber, KCK Convention and Visitors Bureau, Salvation Army Harbor Light Village, Kansas City, Kansas, Public Library and Providence Medical Center.
Jenkins said the VFW Post 6401 also is involved in participating in Veterans Day programs in the Bonner Springs Public Schools, at other locations such as an assisted living center, and VFW Post 6401 plans to participate in the Veterans Day parade Nov. 11 at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.