Letters from Battle of the Bulge Read at Midvale Veterans Program
It was a trip back in time to WWII when the family of the late Tom Holmes read his letters home to his mother that he wrote while fighting the Germans. His son Dennis, Tonya and their daughter Laci Steed painted a picture of military history surrounding those letters written during the Battle of the Bulge in Europe. Also read was an article written by Tom himself detailing the day he turned 22 and how he celebrated it by flying over the Rhine, along with the British, and eventually parachuting out of his fiery plane which went down with the pilot and one other soldier. Some of the two dozen veterans in attendance probably had vivid memories of similar experiences.
The Midvale gym was full for the annual Veterans Day Program Monday, which was organized by FCCLA members Emma Mikek and Kyra Lincoln as one of their service projects. The music portion of the program was directed by Steve Besel. The guests were treated to free lunch afterward.
To begin the program, an invocation was given by Elias Devries, followed by the presentation of the colors by Gavin Springer and Blake Barton. Kadince Eakins and Alyssa Britton sang the national anthem. Then, to the beat of a drum, the elementary classes marched in, all dressed in military uniforms or patriotic hats for the younger ones.
Instructor Besel led the group in singing all the military anthems, It’s a Grand Ol’ Flag, God Bless America and Yankee Doodle Boy. To put a local spin on it, they then sang Here We have Idaho, Fifty Nifty United States, This Land Is your Land, ending with a variation of the Pledge of Allegiance repeating “liberty and justice!”
A video tribute to the millions of U. S. veterans was played featuring numbers of those serving in various wars and those who gave their lives in those wars. It covered wars from the 1700s to the present day.
Letters With a Soldier was the featured presentation, by the late Tom Holmes of Midvale. That was followed by a moment of silence by the crowd and the playing of Taps.
As a tribute to the veterans present, each was given the microphone to state their name, branch of service, location and years served. The first one, once again, was Chuck Waite of Midvale, followed by those from every branch and covering several decades of history.
The program ended with a benediction given by Wyatt Stiff.
