Speaker: Veterans won’t be left out here

CW5 (Ret.) Bryant Fontenot said all he ever dreamed of was being a soldier.

“I was raised within South Louisiana in a family with a very low income,” he said. “When I was just a young child I would collect soda bottles and then sell them. Then, I’d go to the store that sold surplus items and purchase a military-themed insignia and ask my mother to stitch it onto my clothes. .”

The dream was realized for Chief Fontenot who resigned of his position in the U.S. Army in 2021 after 40 years of service. Although he has retired, he’s still evaluating and training Army pilots in a federal service, where he has the position of deputy chief of standard for each Fort Novosel’s (formerly Ft. Rucker’s) flights training mission.

This past weekend this weekend, he was a guest speaker at 2023’s Veterans Day program that immediately after with the traditional Veterans Day parade.

When he talked about the gloom that soldiers and former soldiers are confronted with after war, he spoke from authority. He served in multiple combat missions throughout Southwest Asia in the vicinity of Iraq.

“I am so upset when people do not take part in during the National Anthem,” he declared. “Our flag has been covering all the corpses of former teammates as well as America’s daughters and sons. This should mean something. .”

However, dawn is coming it said, and it’s just after the darkest hour of the night.

He also cited the work of Rudyard Kipling in “A Time to Pray.”

“In the midst of war, and not prior to it,

God as well as the man we love.

However, in the time of peace, and everything can be redressed

God has been forgotten, and the soldier was spit on.”

But this isn’t the case in the local area, he added in reference to the patriotism that was displayed in Andalusia the weekend before.

“No veteran in the distance from Andalusia as well as Covington County cannot know his merit.”

Today we’d like to express our gratitude to everyone who has helped in making Veterans Day 2023 one of the most memorable celebrations we’ve had yet.

Chief Fontenot was a wonderful guest speaker. Mayor John Thompson, City administrator John Thompson, Mayor Earl Johnson, Brian Foshee, the Andalusia High School marching band, as well as Director Dillon Worley each had parts in the Veterans Day program.

The Andalusia Chamber of Commerce organized the Veterans Day parade, which could have been the largest number of entries in history.

both Andalusia Elementary School as well as Andalusia Junior High School had Veterans Day programs, as did several schools within the school district of Andalusia County. CVF appreciates the effort and is looking for ways to create awareness among schools about the importance of veterans.

We thank the Mayor Earl Johnson, Andy Wiggins, Byron McClain, and everyone else who inspected the 581 veteran tribute banners were put up. We are grateful to all the residents of the region who have embraced our cause by sponsoring the banners.

A special thanks to all who were able to attend the CVF’s “Celebration of Heroes” on the Sunday of November. 5. Amy Dugger directed the program which included performances by the Andalusia High School band, Andalusia Ballet, Andalusia Elementary School’s Show Choir as well as The Lower Alabama Community Choir, and Colby Carlock and the Hank Williams Revue. The Chief Warrant Officer Five Mike Corsaro provided thoughtful remarks.

CVF’s members participated in on the Kiwanis Covington County Fair to advertise our work; put up Flags to be displayed on the main at City Hall; put together an exhibit inside City Hall; and organized an event to celebrate the opening of the exhibit.

The City of Andalusia Ambassadors, led by Mrs. Jeri Stroud, provided assistance during the Celebration of Heroes and on Veterans Day.

In behalf of City of Andalusia and the members of the Covington Veterans Foundation, we hope that Chief Fontenot was right in his observations and that veterans from the area are aware of how much we value the sacrifices they made so that us all could be able to live in peace.

-” Michele Gerlach is communications director for the city of Andalusia. She also serves as Secretary of the Covington Veterans Foundation.

The article President: Veteran’s won’t be forgotten here was first published in The Andalusia Star-News.