Veterans Day is observed on November 11th, stemming from when World War I ended on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. That number was also represented by those honored at West Central Valley High School’s Veterans Day program.

The event’s keynote speaker was Stuart resident Sharon Jirak, representative of the Quilts of Valor Foundation, who for the second year in a row presented quilts of valor to 11 area veterans, who served in eras from World War II to 2017. Jirak says her lineage includes veterans stretching back to the Civil War, and she presents quilts throughout the year, “I just started quilting in 2014 and I don’t know it just meant something to me, it humbles me to present to our veterans. And I was down at the Piece Works Quilt Shop in Winterset and that’s where the home office is for our group and they said, ‘Do you want to do this?’ And I said, ‘Sure.’”

The program also included performances from the high school choir and band, presentation of colors from the Stuart American Legion, and a reading of the history of Veterans Day from Student Council members Sabrina Becker, Chloie Otto, Sophia Mahedy, and Cael Hansen. History teacher Ben Adkins has organized this program for 12 years, and he enjoys reaching out to community members and honoring those who have served, “For me, I was in Boy Scouts and all that stuff and my son is too so anything involving community and patriotism and trying to gain community involvement and gain a sense of pride in our country, I’m for that.”

Veterans Day programs were also held for the West Central Valley elementary and middle schools students later that day.
Quilts of Valor Recipients:

Floyd Faust
Eugene Simons
Chuck Avey
Steve Kroger
Gary Dean Schirm
Ralph Westre
Lloyd Mitchell
Mellissa Brumley
David Aaron Brumley
David Lee Brumley II
Paul Shipman Jr.