A Veterans Day ceremony was held at 11 a.m. Wednesday at the VFW Post 8971. All those who have served and are serving in the military were honored.
Each veteran at the ceremony had the opportunity to introduce themselves and the military branch he or she served in.
Guest speaker at the program was the Rev. Lloyd H. Antoine, pastor of St. Luke Baptist Church in Vidrine. A veteran himself, Antoine, 71, spoke about his service to the country and extended honor and recognition to all those who have served and are serving.
Antoine enlisted in the Army at 18 years old, on Aug. 19, 1968. He served in the military for 24 years, 5 months, and 8 days, and retired as a sergeant first class.
His first assignment was in 1969 in Korea. He received numerous medals including National Defense, Good Conduct, three overseas ribbons, the merit service ribbon, and as he said, “Many countless others.”
Some of Antoine’s children followed suit after their father. His oldest daughter, Aloynetta Antoine Artis, retired as a colonel in the Army. She lives in San Antonio. A son, Anthony Antoine, a 2007 Eunice High School graduate, is a first lieutenant in the Army National Guard.
Antoine grew up on South Beulah in Eunice, and is a 1968 graduate of Lincoln High in Port Arthur, Texas. He is married for the past 34 years to Denise Antoine, a retired major in the Army, and is the father of five, the grandfather of eight, and the great-grandfather of two.
Antoine’s parents were Junior Antoine, originally of Washington, and his mother, Irene Moraux, originally of Oberlin.
Antoine extended honor to all our patriots. “It is such a pleasure to see a patriotic spirit of America represented by all. Children have flags displayed, college students have flags displayed in their dorm rooms.. Freedom is enjoyed by all. We pay tribute to those who have served and sacrificed their lives for our freedom today. We must teach and show our future generation about our country and how to become a proud American,” he said.
“We celebrate this day to honor all veterans. Without our veterans we would not represent the land of the free. We celebrate everyday our veterans,” Antoine said.
The Boy Scouts Troop 425 performed a flag raising ceremony and led a flag retiring eremony.
Guests included Mayor Scott Fontenot; Fire Chief Michael Arnold; Ursula Anderson with Jeff Landry Attorney General’s office; Chad Andrepont, city councilman; and Jimmie Edwards, parish councilman.
The VFW Post 8971 commander is Don Reber. Reber is also the VFW state junior vice president.
A gumbo luncheon was served at the conclusion of the event.
Reber and Kenneth Manuel, commander of the DAV, urged those who have served to join their organizations.
“We want you to be part of our membership,” Reber said.