Those who served in all military actions all the way back to the Revolutionary War were honored today during the Veterans Day memorial. The annual event followed the yearly Veterans Day Parade in downtown Peoria.
Using the World War I and II Memorials as a backdrop, surviving soldiers from all conflicts from the 1940's to present placed wreaths at the monuments. Master of Ceremonies Barry Freeman, an Air Force Veteran and current member of the Patriot Guard honored the most recent casualty of protecting our way of life.
Freeman talked about the recent death of Marine Lance Corporal Jordan Bastean of Pekin, who died during combat operations in Afghanistan October 23rd. Freeman asked the hundreds in attendance to take a moment sometime on Veterans Day to think about fallen soldiers present and past.
The featured speaker was Ron Howotte, an Air Force veteran and current Peoria Fire Department Captain. Howotte talekd about how his Grandmother took him to almost every Veterans Day service in Peoria when he was a child. Howotte also spoke about the impact 9-11 had on him and now the veterans serving to protect us against terrorism.
