In honor of Veterans Day 2012, EMCC Veterans Services created a “wall of names” to honor and recognize those veterans who are working, studying or teaching in the EMCC community. This year’s theme, Veterans Among Us, was the title for the display as well as a ceremony held on Friday, November 9 in the Ceremonial Plaza Stage.
Program
Displaying of the flags: POW/MIA/KIA Honor Guard
-Petty Officer 1st Class Victor Ruiz, NAVY
-Staff Sergeant Patti McDaniel, ARMY
-Sergeant Valentine Costeliz, ARMY
Emcee: Nancy McNeill, Coordinator of EMCC Veterans Services, AIR FORCE
Speakers:
-Dr. Ernie Lara, EMCC President, ARMY
-Eldon Meade, EMCC Student, ARMY
-Col. Thomas Kirk, Keynote, AIR FORCE
THOMAS H. KIRK, JR.
Thomas Kirk was a United States Air Force Colonel fighter pilot, who served 28 years on active duty before his retirement in 1978. He is a veteran of both the Korean and Vietnam conflicts. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Virginia Military Institute and a Master’s degree in Business from the University of Southern California. During his military career, he served worldwide and commanded a fighter squadron in the Vietnam War.
Most noteworthy, while leading the largest fighter-bomber raid of the Vietnam War on 28 October, 1967, Colonel Kirk’s F-105 was hit by anti-aircraft fire over Hanoi, North Vietnam. With his ship engulfed in flames, he was forced to parachute from the plane. Upon landing, he was captured immediately, and spent five and one-half years as a Prisoner of War at the infamous “Hanoi Hilton” prison camp. He was released after the war’s end in March, 1973. Colonel Kirk now speaks about his experiences to groups of both children and adults.
ELDON MEADE
Eldon Meade is a twenty-four year Army Veteran retiring from service in 1992. While serving as an Infantryman he has held leadership positions from Team Leader to First Sergeant. He has also served as Operation Sergeant, Intel Sergeant, Drill Sergeant, and Airborne Instructor. Retirement brought him to Peoria, Arizona, where he has continued to live and work. He has been an avid Veteran and Community supporter as a member of the Board of Direction of the Territorial Chapter of the United States Army and an organizer and chairperson of the Arizona Airborne Association. He is currently the Quartermaster of Buckeye Post 12098 of the Veterans of Foreign War and a fulltime student at Estrella Mountain Community College.
DR. ERNIE LARA
Dr. Ernie Lara is an Army Veteran having served with the 101st airborne division in Vietnam. He started as a student in the Maricopa Community College District at Glendale Community College in 1966, receiving an associate degree. He holds from Arizona State University a Bachelor of Arts in History, a Master of Guidance and Counseling, a Master of Counseling, and a Ph.D from the Higher and Adult Education Program with an emphasis in Student Development. He has been with the district for over 30 years and with Estrella Mountain Community College as its president since 2007. As a community member, Dr. Lara continues his involvement in organizations such as Leadership West, Luke Air Force – Honorary Commanders Program, West Valley Hospital Board of Directors, West Valley Think Tank and Valle del Sol.
“A Nation Reveals itself not only by the men [women] it produces but also by the men it honors, the men it remembers.”
-President John F. Kennedy (1963)