OUS honors veterans at continuing lecture series

Ohio University Southern honored veterans Tuesday by hosting the Fourth Annual Honorable Frank J. McCown Lecture Series in the Mains Rotunda, featuring retired Common Pleas Court Judge Richard Walton as the keynote speaker.

The program, Honoring Our Veterans: Past, Present and Future, began with the presentation of the flags by Cub Scout Pack 152 and Taps played by Mike Black of the VFW Post 6878, Proctorville.

Post 6878 also gave a presentation on the American flag, demonstrating the proper procedures for displaying the flag and also retiring it.

Katie Owens, Chuck Robertson and Catherine Cirner also contributed to the program, each singing songs dedicated to veterans in their lives.

Walton, gave a presentation about the five different types of government and the kind of government that veterans have been fighting for.

Walton served in the 7th Cavalry, second Squadron, in the U.S. Army and said, the events such as World War II, the Korean War, the moon landing and the march on Selma, are not history. They are still current events.

Walton said keeping traditions like Veterans Day programs are important to remember.

“People have very short memories,” he said. “If you don’t keep traditions going they are lost. Once they are lost, they never come back. People don’t know anything about them anymore. It becomes ancient history.”

“We are comfortable in the United States. We’re warm; we’re dry. We have a tendency to forget what’s really on the line and what’s really happening in the world,” he also said.

Chris Hayes, OU student and veteran of the 82nd Airborne Division of the U.S. Army, gave tearful closing remarks.

“Let’s not forget why we’re here,” he said as he choked up. “They know what they’re doing, the people that are serving right now. As someone who’s no longer able to serve, thank you for that.”