Multimedia multimedia/photo_galleries PHOTOS: Honoring our Veterans around West Volusia Beacon Staff - November 15, 2024 0 BEACON PHOTOS/MARSHA MCLAUGHLIN 1 of 20 The Volusia Sheriff’s Office Honor Guard Weapons Team Members of the Embry-Riddle Navy ROTC, including Houston Thomas, Horace Huntsberry, Kayla Prior, James Captain, Micheal Houghtling and Caleb Pine, took part in the parade. Wally Smith James E. Drumb Arthur Ripley William Bell with DeLand mayor Chris Cloudman Laura Wickett talks to the crowd. Youth carry a banner honoring the Navy Seabee veterans The DeLand Fire Department Honor Guard. Students from the St. Barnabas Episcopal School choir sing at the Veterans Day program at Earl Brown Park. BEACON PHOTOS/AL EVERSON; FROM A PARENT WHOSE CHILDREN ARE ON DUTY — Deltona City Manager Dale “Doc” Dougherty welcomes those attending the Veterans Day program. Dougherty said he and his wife have four children who are now serving as Army officers, following their graduation from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, and he thanked the veterans in the audience for their “service and sacrifice,” adding that veterans “represent the best of America.” RECALLING YESTERYEAR — Will Euverard and his wife, Joan, share Veterans Day and the memories of his service in the U.S. Navy. Euverard said he is medically retired from his time of service in naval aviation 1954-58. He added he and his wife have lived in Deltona for about 50 years. As for his thoughts on the holiday, Euverard said, “I’m just happy to be alive.” AN ELITE VETERAN OFFERS PERSPECTIVE — In marking the significance of the holiday, former Navy SEAL Loren King tells those gathered that the need to recognize those who have served goes beyond a single holiday. “It’s important to remember that veterans are demanding of us 365 days a year,” he said. King added that the trouble for those who serve often continues after their tours of duty. “More than 6,000 veterans a year take their own lives,” King noted, urging those who have such self-destructive thoughts to seek help. King is also a former Deltona city commissioner.