A Veterans' Day of tribute

Nursing Homes, Dec, 2004 by Liz Harbison

As young soldiers and sailors, they fought in the Ardennes forests, the Pacific waters off Midway, the jungles of Khe Sanh, and the mountainous terrain of Heartbreak Ridge. World Wars I and II, Korea, Vietnam--brave American men and women served their country in these modern wars with courage and valor, as others continue to do today. These veterans have now grown old. Many of them were never celebrated when they returned home.

Since current world tensions have resurrected memories of the sacrifices of past generations, Deer Meadows Retirement Community, a CCRC of the Baptist Home of Philadelphia, decided to pay a long-overdue tribute to every veteran in its "family" with "A Salute to Our Military Family."

When Michael J. Jacobs came on board as Deer Meadows' executive director in November 2002, he expressed a desire to put together an event to recognize the veterans who live here for their service to our country. "We need to thank them in a big way for their unselfishness. Some of them came back wounded, while others returned home alone after losing their friends on faraway battlefields," says Jacobs.

The executive team gave its full support to the project. Jacobs adds, "You know what, we're a family here. Let's include not only resident veterans, but also veterans on the board and staff." Everyone swapped ideas, solicited donations, and offered creative suggestions that would make "A Salute to Our Military Family" one of the most moving and ambitious celebrations ever to take place on a long-term care campus.

With only 5 1/2 months to pull the event together, the planning committee hit the ground running. There was entertainment to plan and a program to develop; there were speakers to schedule, props to rent, and dignitaries to invite. The "salute" was to be held in Deer Meadows' parking lot, "rain or shine" (and, unfortunately, it did rain, but we had planned for it and rented a large tent that covered the parking lot).

Finally on Sunday, May 18, 2003, 1,000 people gathered on the Deer Meadows campus to officially honor 52 brave male and female veterans, who represented every branch of the armed forces. Guests came from across the country, and it was truly a star-spangled day throughout the community. Flags waved across the Deer Meadows campus--on porches, in windows, and along walkways. To open the ceremony, a color guard led a procession of American flags carried by more than 100 Junior ROTC cadets representing six inner-city high schools in the Philadelphia school district. Led by Lt. Col. Russ Gallagher, these young men and women were crisp, dignified, and precise in their presentation. Many also served as escorts for our honorees.

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While the cadets stood at attention, everyone joined in the singing of our national anthem. Under the direction of John Bryant, pastor of Calvary Church, 50 residents, family, and staff performed as the Friends of Deer Meadows Choir. Higher Call, the Calvary Church choir, also performed, and lent their voices to the Friends of Deer Meadows renditions, as well. Interspersing songs of patriotism and inspiration throughout the program, the choir inspired young and old alike. Thirty members of the Tri-County Band volunteered their time and talents to provide musical accompaniment. Lorraine Guyton, Deer Meadows' director of environmental services and security, remarked that when the Higher Call choir performed Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA," she saw and felt the tears of remembrance, recognition, pride, appreciation, and joy that filled the eyes of the audience.

In this emotionally charged atmosphere, with flags waving and patriotic songs echoing throughout the tent, each veteran received a small flag name tag and a citation of thanks, and each was presented the colors (the familiar triangular-shaped folded flag) of our nation. Young ROTC cadets saluted each honoree. As Deer Meadows' Director of Information Technology Dot Biela remarked, "It seems that there was one more vet there that day, although only I saw him. My father, a survivor of the Battle of the Bulge, passed away two years ago."

Following this presentation, Capt. (Ret.) David Christian, the country's youngest and most highly decorated Vietnam veteran, who retired at age 21, addressed the assembly. When we planned this program, the war in Iraq had not yet begun and, although Christian, a national Fox News television consultant, had heavy responsibilities at the network, he arranged his schedule to ensure that he was here to share his thoughts and memories with his fellow servicemen and -women. Christian later commented that he has participated in many veteran functions, including funeral ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery, and was touched by what we, as a care community, were able to do in honoring our military family.

Along with Christian's remarks, the audience heard proclamations from Philadelphia Mayor John F. Street, Esq., and Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell, as well as greetings from President George W. Bush, who wrote, "By answering the call of duty, our brave men and women in uniform, along with their families, serve as examples of courage, dedication, and sacrifice. America is grateful for their selfless service."