Take real action to honor vets

Romans paused at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, gathered as they have for decades to pay tribute to veterans at the Tomb of the Known Soldier, Charles Graves, in Myrtle Hill Cemetery. District Attorney Leigh Patterson suggested that the best way Rome and Floyd County residents can honor veterans is to really take some sort of tangible action to honor them.

Patterson said that more than 7,200 veterans currently live in Floyd County, most of them now veterans of the Vietnam War.

Patterson explained some of the activities that local veterans’ organizations do to serve the community, and then offered a series of six thoughts about how Romans can serve the veterans in our area.

At the top of the list, Patterson told the crowd

they should buy some barbecue and Brunswick stew when the organizations

hold fundraisers. She encouraged the community to buy raffle tickets

and play Bingo occasionally.

“This is not hard, people,” Patterson said.

Her third suggestion was to pick up some groceries when you go to the grocery store, put them in a box and then take it to one the groups for distribution to the needy across the county.

Patterson’s fourth idea was to ask local church leaders to make sure to recognize our veterans during services on Sunday.

Patterson struck a more somber tone with her fifth recommendation. “If you know a vet who is struggling with PTSD, let them know you care,” Patterson said. “Offer to do a chore, rake their leaves.”

She explained that 22 veterans commit suicide every day.

She said vets account for close to 11 percent of the homeless population across the nation. “PTSD, mental illness, substance abuse, lack of family and social support and the inability to find a good job, are the main reasons,” Patterson said.

Her final suggestion was to give a veteran a job.

“You won’t be sorry if you hire a vet,” Patterson said. The D.A. said two members of her staff are veterans and she’s holding a job for a third who will be home in February.

Following the service, the Shanklin-Attaway American Legion Post Five hosted a barbecue luncheon for the community at their facility on Shorter Avenue.

Doug Walker / RN-T Mike O’Shea salutes after laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Known Soldier in Rome’s Myrtle Hill Cemetery on Veterans Day. O’Shea represented the Nathan Bedford Forrest Camp 469 of the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

Doug Walker / RN-T Corbyn Seth Burk (from left), 8; Lylah Elizabeth Burk, 6; and Carter Strickland, 6, pay attention to the service at Myrtle Hill.

Doug Walker / RN-T Local Knights of Columbus salute during the singing of the national anthem during the Veterans Day service at Myrtle Hill.

ABOVE: Oscar Scales, representing the Grady-Mabry American Legion Post 506, salutes after placing a wreath at the Tomb of the Known Soldier during Saturday’s Veterans Day service at Myrtle Hill Cemetery.RIGHT: Veteran Tom Centola and his great-niece Katie Kiser smile as they listen to speakers.BELOW: Bob Bennett, a member of the American Legion Post 5 Honor Guard, plays taps to end the service.

Photos by Doug Walker, Rome News-Tribune ABOVE: In her speech, Rome District Attorney Leigh Patterson focuses on what Romans can do to serve the large population of veterans in Rome and Floyd County.