Monday, July 5th, in continuing the celebration of Independence Day, the Statesboro, Georgia VFW Boswell A. Johnson Post 108255 held a ceremony at the Bulloch County Judicial annex in front of the monument placed there to honor soldiers of all wars.
The Independence Day ceremony closes out a weekend of patriotism. The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) ceremony included the Pledge of Allegiance, reading the Declaration of Independence for its 245th anniversary of being signed and a flag folding demonstration.
The VFW is made up of veterans who have served in combat making it different from the American Legion, and is the oldest veteran support organization in the country.
Participating in todays event from Statesboro's VFW post were:
- Mike Cox, Commander
- John Kitchens, Senior Vice Commander
- Felix Loya, Junior Vice Commander
- David Kaiser, Comrade
- Justin Williams, Quarter Master
- Larry Shatteen, Adjutant
- Eugene Smith, Chaplain
Representing the Georgia VFW:
- Dean Rakoskie, Judge Advocate
- Dee Adams, District 6 Commander
Grice Connect live streamed Monday's ceremony. You can watch it in entirety below.
VFW Fosters Patriotism
VFW also fosters patriotism within the community with their civic program, recognizing law enforcement, firefighters, EMS and teachers of history, civics, government and other patriotic subjects, said Rakoskie.
In part of their community engagement, the VFW offers youth and education programs like picking teacher of the year or giving scholarships to essay contest winners.
Two essay contests are headed-up by the VFW: The Voice of Democracy for high school students and The Patriot’s Pen for grades 6th-8th. An audio essay is required for The Voice of Democracy matching this year’s theme, “America: Where do we go from here?” with a $30,000 reward.
The Patriot’s Pen offers winnings up to $5000 for 1st place winners and adjusted winnings all the way until the 26th-53rd places who receive $500. This year’s theme is “How can I be a good American?”
Veterans interested in joining VFW can do so here. Membership dues for this year have been waived now that one donor has offered to pay the dues of every new member, said Rakoskie.
