Veterans Recognized in Local Keokuk County Communities

On Wednesday Nov. 11, communities and local schools around Keokuk County honored veterans by having school assemblies, singing patriotic songs and even having a choir sing for the Richland VFWs at the United Methodist Church in that town.

Armistice Day, which marks the end of World War I, is marked at 11 a.m. on the 11th day of the 11th month, the date and time the guns went silent in 1918. Congress officially established Armistice Day as a holiday in 1938 and in 1954 the holiday was renamed Veterans Day.

At Sigourney Jr./Sr. High, a quartet of brass players played Taps in the morning and Mr. Cortez Daniel uploaded a video of his students singing on YouTube.

At Tri-County High School in Thornburg, they had a school assembly which featured the American Legion from Keswick who Posted the Colors as well as Retired the Colors for the day. 

The principal, Ms. Jennifer Berg, live streamed the assembly on Tri-County School’s Facebook page.

Pekin’s choir performed for veterans and their families at the United Methodist Church on S St. in Richland. John Moore spoke about the aforementioned history of Veterans Day, what it means to be a vet and jokes that only military people would understand.

After Moore spoke, the program concluded with prayer, a rifle salute and a playing of Taps by Leroy Robison.