The late Didi Wayland, a WWII veteran, attended observances in 2015
American Legion Post 86 will host a Veterans Day ceremony at 11 am Monday Nov. 11 on the lawn behind Cornelius Town Hall. The traditional Veterans Day Program is held adjacent to the Veterans Monument at Rotary Plaza. The 21-gun salute by Post 86 is a tradition and always memorable for adults and children alike.
Veterans Day marks the formal end of World War I, at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, when the Armistice with Germany went into effect.
Brig. Gen. JR Gorham
In addition to a performance by country music star Rockie Lynne, the event includes remarks by Brigadier General James R. Gorham, the first African-American brigadier general in the North Carolina National Guard. He currently serves as director of special projects for the NC Dept. of Public Safety.
The East Carolina University is an author and motivational speaker. He grew up in the Falkland community near Greenville, where his father was a sharecropper.
The event includes:
- Invocation Rev. Ellison Bowman
- Posting of the Colors American Legion Post 86, W. A Hough Junior ROTC, and Hopewell Junior ROTC
- Performance by the W.A. Hough High School Concert Choir
Banks and government offices will be closed on Monday. The weather will be perfect, with highs in the upper 60s, according to the National Weather Service. Showers start late tonight or, more likely, early Tuesday morning. Tuesday is all about rain and then it gets exceptionally cold, with an Arctic cold front plunging temps here into the 20s overnight.
Pictured are the hands of the late Rev. John “Didi” Wayland, the former pastor of Bethel Presbyterian Church. A World War II veteran who went into Normandy on D-Day, he attended the Veterans Day ceremony at Town Hall in 2015.
