Ogden Veteran's Home Dedication Ceremony Report

It was awe-inspiring to be a part of such a patriotic event

By Dorrene Jeske

I attended the dedication ceremony for the Veteran's Home yesterday, which was the subject of a front page article in this morning's Standard-Examiner:

• Ogden veterans home hosts grand dedication

At 9:30 AM, a continental breakfast of fruit, pastries and juice or coffee was offered to a couple of hundred people who attended a brief program and tour of the new facility. It is a beautiful building inside and out. The individual bedrooms were very nice, but reminded me too much of the hospital rooms where I spent three weeks a year ago. The home has a commons area or a large family room with a beautiful and well furnished kitchen next to it. We also saw the huge kitchen where the meals for veterans who will be staying there will be prepared. It is a big improvement over the Fort Douglas facility. We were told that when the federal money is obtained, that it will be used to build two similar facilities in the middle and south end of the State to service the veterans who live in those areas.

At 11:00 AM, everyone was ushered outside to a bright sunny, almost cloudless sky overhead. The dedicatory ceremony was very nice and touching. A beautiful big American flag along with the State and another flag were posted behind the speakers and Mrs. Wahlen on a raised platform. Our National Anthem was sung beautifully and the Pledge of Allegiance had a significant impact on those attending because of the many veterans and on-duty service personnel that were in attendance and recited it with great emotion. After the invocation by General Robert Oaks, God Bless America was beautifully sung with great feeling and the active members of our military services joined in the last couple of verses. It was one of those emotional moments that won’t be forgotten for some time.

The speakers were brief and humbled by the presence of so many of our brave and courageous veterans bearing the results of their personal sacrifices preserving our freedoms and our American way of life. Coach Frank Layden told the story of baseball great Jackie Robinson (both of them were also Vets) and his struggles as the first black man breaking into baseball after he had served his Country in WW II.

It was awe-inspiring to be a part of such a patriotic event, and it made one realize how much we do owe our veterans and our active military members and their families for the great sacrifices they make and have made so that we can enjoy a wonderful life and the freedoms promised us by the greatest Constitution of the greatest country in the world!