Veteran's Day Recognition Concert

This Veterans Day, residents of Cache Valley and citizens of the United States came together in the Kent Concert Hall to honor and recognize the men and women who have devoted their lives to “keep us safe in a land we call home.”
The event included a stage full of The American Festival Chorus and Utah State University’s Symphony Orchestra conducted by the head of the Music Department, Craig Jessop. Ushers had to start turning people away because of the large turnout.
The USU ROTC-Army and Air Force presented the American Flag. The national anthem was performed by the combined choir and orchestra with the audience joining in on the last line.
Gary Griffin, Utah State’s American Legion Post and retired United States Air Force lieutenant and colonel, conducted the event. Griffin talked of the 36-day battle on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima. By the end of February U.S. troops took 1,000 Japanese prisoners and mounted the American flag atop Mount Suribachi, the first foreign flag to be raised on Japanese soil in 4,000 years, Griffin said.
Griffin quoted Tom Brokaw in reference to veterans at the World War II memorial dedication. “You are the lucky ones, you came back, and you survived. So many of your friends did not survive. Now you have a duty to honor them, and we have a duty to honor you.”
Michael Liechty, the event’s featured speaker and Utah’s Army Land Forces Commander, talked about people’s willingness to serve their country. “We owe our veterans. This country is a democracy defended by volunteers,” Liechty said, “and our gratitude extends to their loved ones and family.”
In some closing remarks, Griffin talked about Dwight D. Eisenhower and how he is seen as an example of how a military serviceman should act towards his country. After Eisenhower’s induction into the United States Military, he said the U.S. meant something different to him now. It was a nation he would be serving and not himself, Griffin said.
A moment of silence took place to honor those who paid the ultimate sacrifice to protect us. “As a nation we pause, and we should, in remembrance of them,” Liechty said.