Keeping to the tradition that the treaty was signed on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, the Scotland County Veteran's Council will hold their annual Veterans Day Ceremony at 11 a.m. at the Clinton V. Willis National Guard Armory at 1520 S. Main St., Laurinburg, according to Jimmy Bennett, president of the organization.
"It was scheduled to be at Legion Park, but due to the weather, we moved it to the national guard armory," Bennett said.
Bennett said the event will feature several speakers, with the Rep. Larry Kissell slated to be the keynote speaker.
Kissell is a member of the House Armed Services Committee where he serves on the Readiness and Land and Air subcommittees. His father, Richard Kissell, was a decorated World War II veteran.
A representative from Sen. Richard Burr's office will also be present and will read a letter from the North Carolina senator.
Bennett, who served in the National Guard from 1956 to 1964, said county residents should come out today and honor veterans.
"Our veterans have been the lifeline of this country and have kept us free," Bennett said. "It is important to always recognize our veterans because they sacrificed for the freedom that we enjoy."
He added that any time someone can lend a helping hand to a veteran, they should jump at the opportunity, even if it is just thanking them for their service to the country.
Scotia Village
Scotia Village will hold a special Veterans Day breakfast at 8:30 a.m. in honor of its residents who served.
The speaker will be Maj. Thomas Long, U.S. Army, who has been deployed in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Currently stationed at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., he received permission from his commanding officer to come speak to the residents of Scotia, which is where his grandmother, Eleanor Adeimy, resides.
Susan Boyer, life enrichment coordinator, said the event is done to honor residential veterans.
"We do this to say thank you to our veterans, to honor our veterans, for all of the sacrifices that they and their families made so that we may enjoy the freedom we have today," Boyer said.
The event is for veterans, their spouses, and widows and widowers of veterans.
The retirement community will have the color guard from Scotland High School do both the presentation of the colors and the retirement of the colors.
Pre-Veterans Day event
Not everyone waited until Veterans Day to hoist up the flag and honor the nation's service members.
State Rep. Garland Pierce held a Pre-Veterans Day event for those who served in Scotland, Robeson and Hoke Counties.
Pierce said attendance was good with about 100 people from the three counties coming out.
The speaker was state Rep. Larry Hall from Durham. He is a former marine.
Pierce said they were to recognize Capt. Charles Calhoun at the event as the oldest veteran from Scotland County, but the 92-year old World War II veteran was unable to attend.
Calhoun will be honored at the Veterans Day Ceremony at the armory, Pierce said.
The Hoke County Drill Team also participated in the event, which was held at the Old National Guard Armory, located at 423 East Central Ave. in Raeford.
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