St. Luke's Respects WWII Vetern.
Every year, we welcome our very own veterans to our campus for a special ceremony and breakfast to honor and thank them for their service. This year's theme focused on the gift of freedom. With the help of the theater department, band, chorus, student ambassadors, and faculty, our Veterans Day program honored those that served so that we can have the gift of freedom.
This year we greeted City Councilman Scott Jones, Lt. Colonel United States Army, retired, as a guest speaker. He brought along a very special guest with many great accomplishments. Chester Feagin was welcomed to the stage as a World War II Veteran, but that’s not all. Mr. Feagin was assigned to a ship that carried ammunition in the Pacific and he sat offshore watching as the flag was raised on Mt. Suribachi on the island of Iwo Jima. During 1945, he received a whirlwind view of the Pacific from the Marshall Islands to Iwo Jima. He experienced the atomic bombs drop, forcing the surrender of the Japanese, at last, off the shore of Japan.
One day when he was 16, Mr. Feagin went to the Navy recruiting office to enlist, but his nosey neighbors told them that he was only 16 and not 17. Otherwise, he would have joined the navy sooner. Once in the Navy, when WWII ended, he got out.
That wasn’t the end of Mr. Feagin’s extensive military service. When the Korean War came along, he joined the Air Force and later transferred to the Army, as if he had not experienced enough. You heard that correct! Chester Feagin served in not only the Navy, but the Air Force and Army as well! We were truly honored to have a hero, Mr. Chester Feagin, with us during our program this year.
Thank you, Mr. Feagin, for your service and dedication to our country! You are truly someone that has done your part to allow us the gift of freedom!
