Bonham hosts 18th annual regional Veterans Day Celebration

Bonham -- Time is slowly doing what the Axis could never manage; the U.S. loses 1,000 WWII veterans each day and an enthusiastic crowd filled Warrior Stadium this past Friday to honor these disappearing heroes and all our nation's warriors.

Bonham hosted the 18th annual regional Veterans Day Program November 7 and the celebration opened with a T-6 flyover, followed by a formal ceremony that included the Paralyzed Veterans of America color guard, Lone Star Chapter of the Paralyzed Veterans of America rifle volley, a performance by the Bonham High School band and a Field Artillery Half Section from Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

Bonham Mayor Roy Floyd receives a plaque from Joseph M. Dalpiaz, Director, VANTHCS

"This is a special privilege," Bonham Mayor Roy Floyd said of the regional ceremony. "Thank you, especially to our Veterans Center that has allowed us to hold this celebration for 18 years."

Gary Moreland

Bonham resident and Vietnam veteran Gary Moreland sang and played guitar, delivering a heartfelt patriotic song to a solemn audience.

Stefanie Joy

Stefanie Joy, two-time Volunteer of the Year at Sam Rayburn Memorial Veterans Center, addressed the crowd and challenged her classmates at Bonham High School to volunteer.

"No one is more honored to come to Bonham than I am," stated U.S. Rep. and U.S. Navy veteran Ralph Hall as he looked out at a sea of young people waving American flags.

Congressman Hall said a group of youngsters from California stopped by his office recently and he gave them a quick history quiz.

"You all know you are in Washington, D.C.," Hall began, "but can anyone tell me what D.C. stands for?"

"Sure," one of the West Coast kids answered. "Dot com."

Congressman Ralph Hall

Congressman Hall said he would be returning to the Capitol to work with a President-elect he hadn't supported, but Hall said he would cooperate just as Sam Rayburn and Lyndon Johnson worked Dwight Eisenhower a half century before.

"They made a pretty good President out of him," Hall quipped.

Retired U.S. Army Major Chad Maxey was the keynote speaker. Major Maxey enlisted as an 18-year-old in 1978 with the hopes of being a helicopter mechanic. Maxey was promoted to Warrant Officer One in 1984 and was commissioned as a First Lieutenant into the Army Chaplain Corps after receiving his Master Degree of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. Chaplain Maxey is now a full-time staff chaplain at the VA North Texas Health Care System in Dallas, Texas.

During his career, Maxey was stationed at bases in Oklahoma and Alabama, as well as seeing overseas duty in South Korea and Iraq. Maxey told of a memorable arrival in Iraq, stepping off the plane at 2:00 a.m. and immediately noticing the sweltering heat. The temperature was 108 degrees. That afternoon the thermometer registered 130 degrees.

Retired U.S. Army Major Chad Maxey

"It takes every generation to keep our freedom," Maxey told an audience comprised of veterans, along with students of Bonham ISD and Bells ISD. "We need you if we are to continue to be a great country. The sacrifice will be great, but the rewards will be great as well."