Community members are invited to gather on Saturday, Nov. 7, for a Veterans Day Breakfast honoring the men and women who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces. The event begins at 7:30 a.m. in the Morgan University Center at Austin Peay State University, 601 College St.
Maj. Gen. Walt Lord, U.S. Army (retired), will serve as emcee. Lord is the vice president for Military and Veterans Affairs at Austin Peay State University, and he will guide the morning’s program as attendees pay tribute to the nation’s veterans.
Speaker: Maj. Gen. Thomas R. Drew
Maj. Gen. Thomas R. Drew, U.S. Army (retired), will deliver the keynote address. Drew enlisted in the Army in 1982 and graduated from flight school at Fort Rucker, Alabama, in 1983. He later completed Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia, and was commissioned an aviation officer in 1989. Over more than 42 years of active duty, he commanded at the company, battalion and brigade levels, including the 2nd Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, and the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade. He later served as deputy commanding general of the Aviation Center of Excellence, the 2nd Infantry Division in Korea, and the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, and finished his career as commanding general of Army Human Resources Command at Fort Knox, Kentucky.
Drew’s combat tours include Operation Desert Storm, Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation New Dawn and Operation Freedom’s Sentinel. His decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Bronze Star, among many others. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and a master’s degree in national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College. He is married to the former Kay Darnell of Clarksville, and they have a daughter, Kaley Drew Sanders.
How Veterans Day started
Veterans Day is a federal holiday observed each year on Nov. 11 to honor military veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces. The holiday was originally known as Armistice Day, a name that marked the end of major hostilities in World War I. Those hostilities formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, when the Armistice with Germany went into effect. At the urging of major U.S. veterans’ organizations, Congress renamed Armistice Day Veterans Day in 1954. The date also coincides with Armistice Day and Remembrance Day observances in several other countries, which likewise mark the end of World War I.
Today, Veterans Day honors the service of all U.S. veterans, whether they served in wartime or peacetime, at home or overseas. It is an opportunity to acknowledge the courage and dedication they have shown their country, and organizers say a shared breakfast is one meaningful way to say “thank you” for your service.
How to get tickets
Tickets for the breakfast are $40. Register online at the Veterans Day Breakfast site. Military and civilian dress, business casual.
Those who purchase a table and would like to donate to support veterans are encouraged to let organizers know. To reserve a seat or table, contact Renny Sotero at renny@clarksville.tn.us by Friday, Oct. 30.