November 11, Veterans Day, the Pocahontas County Honor Corps held a dinner at the Dunmore Community Center to honor county Veterans and their families.

Honor Corps member John McCollum spoke to the crowd about the importance of the organization and asked veterans in attendance to consider joining.

“If somebody would have told me when I came back from overseas I’d join an Honor Corps, I would have told them ‘you’re out of your mind,’” McCollum said. “It’s been the best thing to happen to this old Vietnam vet. These guys care about me and I care about them. We need help, we need man power.

“I want you to give that some thought,” he continued. “If you think you want to do it, if nothing else, come to a service and watch what we do. Then watch the family members shake every one of our hands and say ‘thank you.’ That’s worth it all.”

Fellow veteran Danny Arbogast also spoke about the importance of thanking all veterans and active military service men and women.

“A soldier’s shoes are hard to fill,” he said. “This is a time for the community to honor the veterans, the young men and women who are on foreign soil doing things for this country so we can sit here right now and appreciate it.”

Honor Corps Commander Barry Sharp presented awards to several people for their services to the community and the veterans. Turn to page 10 to see photos of the award recipients.

The Honor Corps also presented awards to school principals last week for their dedication to educate children about the importance of honoring veterans, and the sacrifices they have made for the country.

Marlinton Elementary School performed a special song, “Thank You Soldiers,” at an assembly November 7 in honor of area Veterans.

Suzanne Stewart may be contacted at sastewart@pocahontastimes.com