2022 Boys State
L to R: Cade Covill, Sean Ruckman, Dillon Boespflug, Holden Saxton.
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Girls State
L to R: Jaylee Bousman,
Maddox Gehlhausen, Ally
Moller.
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Voice of Democracy winners
Ted Nelson, VFW Post Commander (L) and Windy Noble, VFW Auxiliary, give out the Voice of Democracy contest awards to Ally Moller (3rd Place) and Brycen Vrska (1st Place). Kayla Miekle also won the 2nd Place award, but she was not present.
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Veterans Day 2022
Program in Pinedale, Wyoming
by Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online!
November 13, 2022
A special Veterans Day program was held in Pinedale on Friday, November 11th in the Sheppard Auditorium. Veterans Day is a Federal holiday that honors all who have done military service to help protect our country. The program was attended by community members and students from Pinedale High School. Programs were held earlier in the day at Pinedale Elementary and Pinedale Middle Schools. Pinedale High School Wrangler Choir and Concert Band performed musical selections during the program.
Special guest speaker was General Tim Scott, U.S. Air Force. He spoke of the oath every military person takes when joining the service, "There is no expiration date for this oath," he said. The oath is a commitment that carries on even after leaving the service, of duty, honor and loyalty to the country and being in service to others.
Capt. Phil Vrska, retired U.S. Marine Corps, also gave a moving talk about the honor, courage and commitment of service members. "We need to thank all the veterans who have sacrificed and served to protect us," he said. Vrska served nearly 20 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, including three tours in Afghanistan and one tour in Iraq.
Michael Edison, Commander of American Legion Phillips-Edwards Post 47 in Pinedale, spoke of the duty and commitment of United States service members. "They are willing to give their lives, if necessary, for God, Family and Country. America is still the hope of the free world."
The program also had presentations from the 2022 Boys and Girls State representatives.
Boys State:
1. Cade Covill
2. Sean Ruckman
3. Dillon Boespflug
4. Holden Saxton
Girls State:
1. Jaylee Bousman
2. Maddox Gehlhausen
3. Ally Moller
Awards were given out to three students who won the 2022 Voice of Democracy Audio Essay Contest. Each received a certificate and a youth scholarship cash award.
Brycen Vrska - $500
Kayla Miekle - $300
Ally Moller - $100
Community Awards were given out next. A Patriot Award was given to Windy Noble for her many efforts with the VFW Auxiliary. Freedom of the Press Awards were given to Joy Ufford with the Pinedale Roundup/Sublette Examiner newspapers, and Dawn Ballou with Pinedale Online. A Community
Veteran Support Award was given to Pure West gas company for
their many contributions sponsoring programs to enrich the community.
Below is a copy of the speech given by American Legion Commander Mike Edison, Phillips-Edwards Post 47 in Pinedale:
Veterans Day Speech 2022
Commander Michael Edison, American Legion
One thing Veterans all share is their love for their country and fellow man. Their opportunity to serve lies behind the idea of being part of something greater than his/her self. They are willing to give their lives, if necessary, for God, Family and Country; for their way of life.
So, what is an American?
In WWII, the Americans liberated countries, not conquered them. They were free to choose their own destiny.
Lt. Col. Oliver North, a US Marine, gave a speech on Veterans Day, four years ago, that talked about this self-sacrifice. He said that while he was in Iraq, he was on a helicopter that landed to take on the wounded. There was still a firefight going on. This Marine Medic bravely went into the gunfire and was retrieving the wounded. There was an Australian news crew that was filming these heroic actions. He was bringing one of the wounded to the medivac when the news crew yelled out, "Hey mate, did you notice that wasn’t a marine!". The marine had risked his life and had bandaged and retrieved a wounded Iraqi Soldier. The marine yelled back at them, carrying the wounded man on his shoulder, "Didn’t you notice? He was wounded. That’s what we do! We’re Americans!"
In Afghanistan, our US Veterans went in and rescued families after the US Military had officially withdrawn its forces there.
During the withdrawal, we saw mothers throwing their babies over concertino wire into our soldiers loving arms.
We have American Veterans currently fighting in Ukraine. I know one American that is in Mykolaiv, Ukraine that founded an orphanage there for kids with special needs. They kids can’t leave. Mykolaiv is close to Kherson and has received heavy bombardment. He is there right now, at this time, protecting and taking care of those children.
This past year, after the Russians invaded Ukraine in February, I booked a flight as soon as possible to Krakow, Poland. I had been in Ukraine 4 years prior to this and knew someone there that needed my assistance. I answered this call without hesitation. After arrival in Krakow, I witnessed hundreds of refugees, mostly women and children at the main train station. At this time, Poland had already taken on millions of refugees from Ukraine. There were not enough beds in Poland for all of them. Poland was allowing the refugees free rail tickets. My contact was in Warsaw, so I left on a train to Warsaw that night. The train filled up to where there was standing room only. This was in early March and it was still cold. The women and children were riding the trains at night to have a warm place to sleep.
America still is the hope of the free world.
If America is not there, who will protect those who do not have the ability to protect themselves?
We are our nation’s Warriors. We are Veterans. We are Americans.
I am very proud to have honorably served my country and will continue to serve my fellow man.
For God, Family and Country,
Thank you.
Commander Michael Edison, American Legion
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