From the November 17, 2011 edition of The Wayne Herald
Area Veterans are honored in 11-11-11 ceremony Friday
Veterans were honored and thanked for their service to their country during the Veterans Day Program at the Wayne Senior Center on Friday.
During the celebration John Rebensdorf and Duane Schroeder, members of a Legion Rider group from Bloomfield, presented certificates to all veterans in attendance and thanked them for their service.
Speaker for the afternoon was Brad Wieland, Veterans Service Officer for Wayne County. He gave a brief history of the Wayne County Veterans Memorial at the courthouse and encouraged all who have Wayne County family members who are or who were veterans, to have their names engraved on the tablets. At the present time, more than 3,000 names for those who have served since the War of 1812 until the present are listed on the memorial.
Fr. Mark Beran, pastor of St. Mary's Catholic Church and former U.S. Army Chaplain, gave the invocation and benediction for the program.
Wayne Mayor Ken Chamberlain spoke, noting he has a long family history of military service, including family members who served in World War I, World War II and Vietnam and told the audience he had spent nine years in the Nebraska National Guard.
Music for the afternoon was provided by Pat Cook on the piano and Dillon Wieland, who played Taps to conclude the ceremony.
Those in attendance then took part in a traditional balloon release in remembrance of those veterans who are no longer living.
The event was coordinated by the Wayne Senior Center and the Wayne Consolidated Veterans Post.
