Mantua will host its annual Veterans Day ceremony at the municipal building’s Veteran’s Plaza on Tuesday, Nov. 11, at 11 a.m.
A key component of the event – according to Mantua Veterans Commission chairman Joe Heitman – will be to showcase to the community what it’s like to be a veteran.
“It’s important to recognize the veterans in their community,” he said. “There’s no draft anymore, so people aren’t going into the military as much now. (Only) 1% of the country’s population serves in the military. This event is our best bet to honor them.”
The ceremony will feature speeches from two veterans: Mantua VFW Senior Vice Commander Will Foltz and Russ Pine, a former commandant of the Marine Corps League in Wenonah.
The township will also present an award to the VFW’s commander, Charles Thorp, who served more than 20 years in the Army, according to Heitman. His father was a former Veterans Commission chairman and his mother was a former mayor or Mantua who played a key role in creating the Veteran’s Plaza.
“Our VFW is very active in the community,” Heitman noted. “They do a number of things in the community. Whenever our honor guard is needed, they call on them to provide one. We also do the community awards night, where we recognize the people that take that extra step to do their job better.”
Those people include the teacher of the year, police officer of the year, best police Explorer and best citizen of the year. Various fundraisers – like the Running for Vets 5K – are held to help raise money for veterans organizations.
The winners of a poster contest will also be cited during the ceremony. The competition requires kids in local schools to answer the question, “What is a veteran?” Related activities are designed to teach kids about the roles veterans have in society. Students at J. Mason Tomlin Elementary School will perform, along with a vocalist from Clearview High School who will sing the national anthem.
“We work with the schools, like JMT, and go out and talk to the sixth graders,” said Heitman. “We explain to them what it’s like to be a veteran. I hope people in Mantua come out (to the event). Hopefully we get some residents out.”
