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Ceremony honors military veterans
By Shaiyla B. HAKEEM
YOUNGSTOWN
The rotunda of the Mahoning County Courthouse was packed with military veterans and supporters Saturday to honor all military members who have served in peace and in wartime.
The United Veterans Council of Greater Youngstown and Its Environs, in coordination with the Mahoning County Veterans Service Commission, sponsored a Veterans Day ceremony to salute service members from all branches and service eras.
Retired U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Jennifer Baun, president of Northeast Ohio Women Veterans Unit 21, helped spearhead the Veterans Day event.
She said it was “designed to help the community come out and thank the veterans for their service.”
According to Baun, the annual ceremony features informative speakers who talk about their experience in the armed forces, their military jobs and the rich history spanning the eras in which men and women have served.
This year celebrated the centennial anniversary of enlisted military service for women, as well as the 50th anniversary of the U.S. formally entering into the Vietnam War.
Hancock County Veterans Service Director Nichole Coleman of Findlay was the keynote speaker and addressed the importance of veterans encouraging the younger generations to consider military service while supporting one another.
She opened her speech by speaking on the late Loretta Perfectus Walsh, who enlisted in the U.S. Navy during World War I on March 21, 1917. Coleman said Walsh was a trailblazer for women who kicked down the gender-bound door of the armed forces.
“As a child, I knew I wanted to be a military policeman in the Air Force,” she said. “But at the time, that job field wasn’t open to women – but I kept dreaming.”
Coleman’s father, a Vietnam veteran, urged her to not get discouraged and view gender as a blockade to achieving goals. As time passed, so did several laws on gender and military occupational specialties.
At age 18, Coleman enlisted into the U.S. Air Force and served for seven years as a military police officer. Though she is now out of the Air Force, she still works with her brothers and sisters in arms to help them find what federal, local and state benefits they are eligible for. Coleman explained that there is nothing like the esprit de corps and comradeship of military service members.
“Being a veteran is a badge of honor,” she said, “It’s something that no matter what happens the rest of my life, no one can take it away from me.”
Coleman encouraged everyone to share their military story with others, young and old, in an effort to encourage, inspire and support the future generations of armed forces service members. She said the Air Force taught her invaluable lessons about herself and others.
“The military just brings everyone together, puts them in a pot, melts them and creates a new person,” she explained. “You learn your strengths, weaknesses and how to support one another as a team.”
Giving her support, while lying silently by her feet, was her service dog, Tyson. Coleman explained that she suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, and Tyson accompanies her to work, speaking engagements and veteran events. The 3-year-old boxer is a rescue dog that Coleman adopted at 12 weeks old. He started his service-dog training in February and passed the American Disability Association test in August.
“I have found that he is incredibly helpful for veterans that I serve,” she said,
After the keynote remarks by Coleman, a ceremonial wreath was placed at the base of the Man on the Monument in Central Square. The wreath reminds the city of the sacrifices its residents have made and continue to make for the United States.
The monument showcases a soldier standing with his rifle at the position of parade rest. It reads, “Erected by the citizens of Youngstown in memory of the heroes of the township who gave their lives to their country in the war of the rebellion, 1861-1865.” The late David Tod, Ohio’s 25th governor, proposed the monument in 1864.
Donning a black beret with his unit insignia and a leather vest reading, “Vietnam Veteran,” Stanley Clingerman of North Lima weathered the cold to attend the Veterans Day ceremony. He said he is proud of his time served with the U.S. Army, but was happy to return home from Vietnam because it was an “indescribable experience.”
“This was a really nice thing that they did here today,” said Clingerman,