Veterans plan events at Orem cemetery, SCERA

Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Nov 8, 2007 by Rodger L. Hardy Deseret Morning News

OREM -- Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert will be the keynote speaker at this year's Veterans Day activities at the Orem City Cemetery, while a former prisoner of war will be among the honored guests at the SCERA Center for the Arts during the third annual Celebration of Veterans on Saturday.

Bill Elton, a veteran who was part of the infamous World War II Bataan Death March, will receive a framed montage of pictures before and after his interment in a POW camp.

Additionally, the event will honor the Utah National Guard 142nd D Battalion scheduled to be deployed to Afghanistan in January, said committee member Dixie Clifford.

The Orem Heritage Council celebration at the cemetery begins at 9 a.m. with the Veterans March from the cemetery entrance to the Veterans Memorial where Commander George Van DerWater of the Orem American Legion Post 72 will identify each unit as it passes by. A restored World War II command car carrying Herbert and Orem Mayor Jerry Washburn and their wives will be part of the march with Herbert as grand marshal.

Also part of the 300-yard march will be the Brigham Young University ROTC Army and Air Force honor guard and bagpipe band.

American Legion Post 72 will conduct the flag exchange in which the flags representing the United States, all five branches of service and a prisoner of war flag at the memorial will be replaced with new flags. The exchange takes place every six months.

The Orem High School Band will play the national anthem and military tunes. Legionnaires requested three student council members from each of the three Orem high schools be part of the flag exchange ceremony.

Buglers Karl and Douglas Farr of the American Legion will play taps followed by a BYU ROTC Air Force Rifle Drill Team demonstration.

Theresa Hunt, a member of the Gold Star Families of Utah, will offer the Pledge of Allegiance. (Gold Star Families have lost a member of their family in war.)

Other features include a display of restored military vehicles, including the command car owned by veteran George Stokes.

Military recruiters may also bring their Stars and Stripes Humvee and rock-climbing board to the cemetery for an after-program activity for youths.

The hourlong Celebration of Veterans begins at 11:30 a.m. at the SCERA and is free. Cheri Vickery will speak on behalf of the Blue Star Mothers and the Gold Star Families of Utah. (Blue Star Mothers are mothers with sons or daughters currently serving in the military.)

Musical performances include the Mountain View High School Men's Choir.

Miss Orem, Khristen Millicam, will sing the national anthem,

SCERA's 2007 Celebrity vocal competition winner, Emily Noxon, will perform a patriotic number and a selection from the swing era.

Program coordinator Shawn Mortensen and Melinda Nielsen Stailey will perform "The Prayer," a Josh Groban and Charlotte Church number they performed during the closing ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics.

The 142nd D Battalion of the Utah National Guard will be on hand, and the Orem Heritage Museum at the SCERA will be open with veterans available. Roots of Freedom, headed by Scott Swain, will donate some artwork and flags as part of a prize drawing. Also, patriotic artwork from Repartee Gallery will be displayed in the lobby.

The SCERA Center for the Arts is located at 745 S. State.

E-mail: rodger@desnews.com