North Myrtle Beach Times Serving our Community and the Grand Strand for over 50 years
By Ruben Lowman
Veterans Day is a very special day in the United States, where we honor those who have served our country for all they have given and all they continue to give.
On this Veterans Day, today, Nov. 11, the North Myrtle Beach area has a number of events taking place that will honor our veterans where residents can pay their respects to those who have given for our nation.
The North Myrtle Beach Memorial Gardens in Little River has a ceremony every year with guest speakers, entertainment and refreshments that begins at 10:30 a.m., with service starting at 11 a.m. The event is hosted by The NMB Memorial Gardens and The Little River Elks Lodge #2840. The ceremony will include the Marine Corp. League, the Knights of Columbus, Conway Celtic Pipers and Wreaths Across America. The cemetery is located at 65 East Highway 90 in Little River at the corner of Highways 9, 90, 17 and Nixon’s Crossroads.
The city of North Myrtle Beach will be holding a ceremony at the North Myrtle Beach Park & Sports Complex, hosted by the American Legion Post 186 and VFW Post 10804. The event will begin at 11 a.m. and will include the posting of colors by the American Legion Honor Guard, a rendition of the National Anthem and an opening prayer. Christopher N. Vandenberg, a retired Chief Master Sergeant who served in the Air Force from 1984 until retiring from active duty in 2011, will be the guest speaker. During his 27 years of service, Vandenberg was assigned to the Pentagon for 17 years and was fought in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. The event will close with a flag ceremony, 21-gun salute, Taps and a closing prayer.
The North Myrtle Beach Community Band will be performing a patriotic concert on Saturday, Nov. 13, in the auditorium of NMB High School on Sea Mountain Highway in Little River. The free concert will begin at 7 a.m. and will feature a number of different classical works that pay tribute to our nation. “Riders For the Flag” by John Phillip Sousa, “The Light Eternal” by James Swearingen and “America, The Beautiful” arranged by Carmen Dragon are just a few of the variety of compositions that will be featured in the program. The concert is sure to be a wonderful night full of uplifting music that will help the local area and residents fully transition into the fall season. Doors will open at 6:40 p.m.
Long Bay Symphony will be putting on their uplifting patriotic Veterans Day program, entitled War & Peace, at a few different area locations this weekend. The show, which will feature inspirational songs from the Revolutionary War to the present, will trace our nation’s quest for freedom through music and narrative and will be free for military veterans to attend and just $10 for the general public. The program will be performed at All Saints Church in Pawleys Island on Saturday, Nov. 13, at 3 p.m., First Presbyterian Church in Myrtle Beach on Sunday, Nov. 14, at 2 p.m. and Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Church on 8th Avenue North in the Ocean Drive section of North Myrtle Beach on Sunday, Nov. 14, at 5:30 p.m.
Additionally, for anyone looking for other ways to honor our veterans and service members, Wreaths Across America has begun their fundraising and individual sponsorship for National Wreaths Across America Day, which will be held on Saturday, Dec. 18. On this day, the organization not only thanks an interred veteran for their sacrifices, but also says their name aloud and keeps their memory alive for family, friends and their community at a time of year when they are missed the most. Local volunteers are feverishly working on this mission with fundraising and individual sponsorship in order to meet the cutoff date of Nov. 30.
Locally, organization officials say volunteers for the event are very close to honoring every single veteran laid to rest at NMB Memorial Gardens but they need just a little extra help to complete the mission to honor each veteran at the cemetery. Officials said there is unfortunately a large deficit in the number of wreaths, which will leave many veterans without honor. They ask that anyone interesting in giving back should consider a small gift of remembrance by sponsoring a veteran’s wreath for $15. The sponsored live, balsam wreath will be placed at the headstone of one of our local heroes. If you are interested in sponsoring a wreath, volunteering for the event or for more information, visit www.wreathacrossamerica.org/SCNMBMG.
