Every year the city of Athens celebrates Veterans Day with a parade, starting at 10 a.m. After winding through neighborhoods and onto Court Street, the parade ends at the Soldiers and Sailors monument on Ohio University’s College Green, with a military ceremony honoring the nation’s veterans. It’s a great thing to get out of your off-campus or Ohio University housing, and show up to provide your support for veterans, just by watching the parade and waving a flag. See you there on Wednesday, Nov. 11 (unless, heaven forbid, the pandemic is still forcing the cancellation of public events that far into Fall Semester).
Also consider attending the usual Veterans Day ceremony at The Ridges, a large preserve owned by Ohio University. The Ridges, former site of the old Athens Asylum, has three cemeteries, with the graves of former patients, many of whom were veterans. Many had Civil War service, even though they died later in the 19th or 20th centuries. Ceremonies at one of the Ridges cemeteries, honoring those vets, are held on Memorial Day and Veterans Day every year.
Maybe you’d like to do more. Try contacting the Athens County Veterans Service Office at 70 N. Plains Road, Suite A, The Plains, to lend a hand in organizing the parade or even participate by planning a catchy float entry. You might also look into providing some transport for aging vets who need a ride. Other things you could do:
- Contact local veterans organizations and find out who is placing flags on veterans’ graves and see how you can help with that effort. Start early and do some kind of fundraiser for money for flags.
- Look into visiting homebound or hospitalized veterans, or those in nursing homes, on Veterans Day or any day.
- Find out if local veterans’ organizations are in contact with veterans without families. Often, when these men (and some women too) die, they have no one left to attend their funerals.
No need to confine your good works just to Veterans’ Day. There are vets out there that need a hand any day of the year.