At the base of a flagpole, next to a small field of American flags planted in the ground to honor many who served in the United States armed forces, local military veterans honored their colleagues on Nov. 10 during an annual Veterans Day Ceremony at Central Carolina Community College.
"I know that every one of you and your family made sacrifices for you to be able to provide that service so that all of us could be here today," CCCC President Dr. Lisa Chapman said to open the event shortly before Anthony Farrior, CCCC's Assistant Director of Veterans Upward Bound, performed the National Anthem.
Most of the 35-minute observance centered around a keynote address by retired Command Sgt. Maj. Al Lampkins, who now serves as Fayetteville Community Network Director for Veterans Bridge Home, a nonprofit helping veterans make a successful transition from the military to civilian life. Lampkins is a decorated military veteran who deployed for combat on five occasions, serving in Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan. Among his awards are the Legion of Merit for exceptionally meritorious conduct and five Bronze Stars for acts of heroism in combat and meritorious service.
"On this day it's very popular to publicly express our love for this great country and our veterans; that patriotic spirit has spread to Americans of all ages," Lampkins said. "But I've always wondered: Do everyone truly understand the price that was paid for us to enjoy the freedoms that we enjoy daily?"
To make sure everyone around him appreciated that sacrifice, Lampkins highlighted many who have fought to protect freedom.
He began with Crispus Attucks, a multiracial man who escaped slavery and was killed in the Boston Massacre, making him first American colonist killed in the American Revolution. Lampkins then cited several other profiles of courage, each about one minute long, working his way through the Civil War to World War I and more contemporary conflicts. Along the journey, he highlighted women -- including Lt. Col. Annie Ruth Graham, the highest-ranked American servicewoman to die during the Vietnam War.
Many, like Attucks and Graham, are fairly well-known in history. Others are not. One of those was retired Sgt. Matthew Pennington, a soldier Lampkins served with at Fort Bragg. While in Iraq, Pennington's scout vehicle was ambushed near Tikrit with an improvised explosive device. The attack required amputation of Pennington's left leg below the knee and caused severe damage to his other leg. The soldier spent a year recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center near Washington, where he went through more surgery and therapy.
Every time Lampkins shifted from one group of veterans to another, he made the transition by returning to a common refrain. "We celebrate this day, we honor veterans today, because we know that without them there would be no land of the free," he said. "So, we must remember this day and all who fought for it."
Cadets from the Army ROTC battalion based at Campbell University also participated, raising the flag early in the program and conducting a flag folding ceremony to close. After lowering the United States flag, cadets went through the procedure, first folding the flag lengthwise and then making a series of tight triangular folds. As each fold was made, Karmisha Hernandez Luciano, Program Coordinator for CCCC's Veterans Upward Bound, cited a historical quote about freedom and democracy, ending with civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King.
"Fold 13," she read from behind the podium. "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
As CCCC's Director of Veterans Upward Bound and Military Affiliated Initiatives, Dr. Jen Servi-Roberts organized the Veterans Day Ceremony to honor veterans and thank them for their service. But, she was quickly to add, it also reflects a greater commitment to care for those who served in the armed forces. "It's not just a one-day ceremony for the college," she said. "We're here 365 days a year to support our veterans."
For more information on Central Carolina Community College - which is dedicated to providing pathways to achievable dreams, visit www.cccc.edu
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