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Veterans salute during the playing of “Taps”.

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Community pauses to remember veterans

World War I ended at the 11th minute of the 11th hour of the 11th month in 1918. Ninety years later, on Tuesday, veterans in Floyd County gathered at the court house to commemorate Veterans Day.
The observance was originally celebrated as Armistice Day. But, as guest speaker Capt. Jack Price noted, “people born at the end of World War I fought in World War II, and then Korea. President Eisenhower suggested that all veterans be remembered, so it was changed to Veterans’ Day.”
There has been a lot of change over the years. Price said just prior to World War II, cavalry units were still practicing on horseback.
Price noted that the military has grown smaller and more efficient. “A lot of attention is given the combat deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan, yet that number is smaller than the number who died in peacetime in the 1980s in accidents.”
After his remarks, Price asked each veteran present to stand and introduce himself and term of service. The group present represented military service from the early days of World War II through Desert Storm.