Honoring those who served: Middle Georgians commemorate Veterans Day
Ceremonies across Middle Georgia honored U.S. military veterans with annual Veterans Day celebrations.
Macon-Bibb County, Warner Robins, Robins Air Force Base, Carl Vinson VA Medical Center in Dublin, Georgia Military College and other organizations hosted events.
Sen. Raphael Warnock thanked Middle Georgia veterans during a ceremony at Linwood Cemetery in Macon and remarked on the death of Vietnam veteran and former Georgia Sen. Max Cleland, who died earlier this week.
“I’ve been lucky to meet so many brave young men and women who are doing their part to serve our nation, and I’m always awestruck, because you represent the best of us,” he said. “You were asked to serve, and you showed up, and for that we’re grateful.”
Warnock said veterans deserve support as much as applause, and outlined efforts to improve veterans homes through his Improving Care for Veterans Act.
The legislation would update the standards for veterans homes personnel so they’re equipped to provide high-quality care; improve veterans homes governance and oversight to strengthen transparency regarding care; and enhance infection control and prevention by requiring all facilities to employ an infection preventionist, similar to state long-term care facilities
“Even as we applaud their service, we have to make sure they have all of the support they need,” Warnock said.
Retired U.S. Army Capt. Quintisia B. Kelly was the keynote speaker, and she encouraged attendees to find areas in the community where they can volunteer, investing their time in making where they live a better place. The Macon-Bibb County Fire Department and Bibb County Sheriff’s Office color guard presented the colors, along with the Southwest High School Air Force Junior ROTC.
The ceremony was hosted by the Macon Cemetery Preservation Corporation, dedicated to restoring the historic African-American cemetery.
Supporters can donate to the preservation efforts by contributing the the cemetery’s endowment fund through the Community Foundation of Central Georgia. On the second Saturday of every month from 9 a.m. to noon, the corporation invites volunteers to work at the cemetery, clearing debris and cleaning gravesides.
Linwood Cemetery was founded in 1894 in Macon’s Pleasant Hill Neighborhood and is the final resting place for many prominent Maconites, including Charles H. Douglass, who opened the Douglass Theatre in 1911; and Jefferson F. Long, the first Black congressman from Georgia.
Remembering the 151st
Macon-Bibb County and Middle Georgia State University held a ceremony on Coleman Hill Thursday morning that honored all veterans, including members of 151st Machine Gun Battalion, 42nd Rainbow Division, who lost their lives during World War I.
Middle Georgia State University President Dr. Christopher Blake discussed the importance of Veterans Day, also known as Remembrance Day. The ceremony, held at 11 a.m. on the 11th day of the 11th month, was initially known as Armistice Day and celebrated the end of World War I.
“The 151st Machine Gun Battalion of the 42nd Rainbow division were primarily local Macon men who went to serve between 1917 and 1918 on the Western Front in Flanders,” he said. “In that short time, these men who we remember today made the ultimate sacrifice, they lost their lives fighting in that dreadful war, known at the time as the War to End All Wars.
“Sadly, it was not, but it was a global catastrophe that consumed so many. We honor these men not just for them, but as a symbol of all who paid the price, to honor all the American men and women who fought across the century, whether it be in the jungles of southeast Asia, or the mountains of Afghanistan, or the deserts of Iraq.”
The 151st Machine Gun Battalion served for 18 months, taking heavy losses up until Nov. 8, 1918. Seventy names are etched on the Coleman Hill monument, and Blake noted the more than 400 others from the battalion who suffered from mental and physical injuries from the war.
“They returned to Macon and they were received as heroes,” he said, adding Thursday’s ceremony has its roots in that initial reception at that same spot, more than a 100 years ago.
Macon-Bibb County Mayor Lester Miller attended both ceremonies.
Telegraph staffers Jason Vorhees and Tamari Perrineau contributed to this story.
