Veterans Day events on tap across area
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To honor the men and women who have served in the U.S. military and their families, members of the Clovis and Portales communities are coming together to put on a slew of events, from open houses at local veteran organization posts to the annual Veterans Day Parade.
Veterans Day is Monday, and there’s a lot going on the days leading up to it.
John Montano is the lead organizer of the Clovis Veterans Week events and has helped arrange everything from the parade to the Veterans Day breakfast.
“We want to honor these veterans and the sacrifices they’ve made, but also recognize spouses for example. I’ve had 32 years in the military and I’m considered a veteran. My wife likes to say ‘I’m just as much a veteran as you because I put up with it,” Montano said. “You have people serving in the military, but often their spouse will be at home raising the kids.”
The main event in Clovis will be Saturday’s Veterans Day parade, where members of local veterans groups, members of Cannon Air Force Base and more will walk to celebrate their service.
The parade begins at 10 a.m. Saturday with an awards ceremony for the best entries following at noon at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3280. This year’s theme is “Home of the Brave” and you can call the Clovis/Curry County Chamber at 565-763-3435 or Montano at 575-760-4530 for more information.
On Veterans Day itself there will be a free breakfast from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. at American Legion Post 25 in Clovis, which will be open to all.
In Portales, American Legion Post 31 will be holding a Veterans Day Memorial Service at 10:30 a.m. at the Memorial Building to celebrate the county’s six surviving World War II veterans. For information call 575-760-3341.
“The focus this year will be on our World War II veterans because it was a war that was so important to our history,” said Post 31 member Randy Dunson. “As time goes on we have fewer and fewer people serving. Years back everyone had someone in the family who served. Now we need to make sure that everyone knows the sacrifices made and that freedom isn’t free.”
Various veterans organizations have been holding open houses throughout the week with two remaining before Veterans Day.
American Legion Post 117 will hold an open house from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. today at 2800 W. Grand Ave., Clovis. For information call 575-763-4030.
Elks Lodge #1244 will hold an open house from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday at 218 Sycamore St., Clovis.
Clovis Community College and Eastern New Mexico University will be holding celebrations.
CCC will hold its Veterans Day observance from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Thursday at its Town Hall building on campus. There will be a ceremony honoring CCC staff, faculty and students who have served in the military or are a part of a military family followed by refreshments. For information call 575-762-9598.
Eastern New Mexico University has several events lined up to take place in the Pecos Room on campus for Veterans Day. Things start with “National Roll Call” with Dr. Robert Schneider listing over 300 current or former ENMU students who are veterans at 11:45 a.m.
Next will be the “PTSD: From Hell to Hope” presentation by guest speaker Janet Birkey at 1 p.m. Things wrap up at 2 p.m. with guest author Karen Glinski talking about her book “Badge of Honor,” which features a young boy’s encounter with a Navajo Code Talker For information contact Military Outreach Coordinator Jacob Bulloch at 575-562-2195 or:
