Florence Township officials and residents gathered around the Eagle Monument at Front and Broad Street on Nov. 11, when this year’s annual Veteran’s Day ceremony was held.
The event for the township was particularly special as it acknowledged the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I.
The morning’s ceremony, which was sponsored by the Francis W. Robbins American Legion Post 194, featured remarks from Florence Township Mayor Craig Wilkie, performances by Adrienne Mazar and the Florence Township Memorial High School marching band, a wreath presentation from the township’s Boy Scout Troop 3 and a rifle squad presentation by the township’s police department.
“It’s great for the community to come together,” Wilkie said. “It’s not a government-run program. It’s done by the community – by the volunteers and everybody working together. It reminds us about America.”
As the morning processions carried on, veteran Richard Glass commemorated the anniversary event as he read the names and rankings of the local veterans who fought in World War I.
“We need to remember those who have served and continue to serve, and sacrifice,” Wilkie said.
Keynote speaker for the ceremony, Ralph Foulks, a Florence resident since 1924 who served as an aviation radio man 2nd class U.S. Navy. Distinguished with the Flying Cross, Foulks flew off the aircraft carrier, the U.S.S. Hornet, in a Helldiver combat plane as a radio man and gunner.
While he participated in the bombing the Japanese battleship the Yamato, which was sunk in the Pacific Ocean, Foulks was shot down and rescued by a destroyer ship and honored for his combat efforts.
In Foulks’ address to the audience, he took the opportunity to not only thank those who had served before him, but acknowledged Post 194 as well for their efforts to support local vets.
“I recognize the names of all these men that went away to World War I because those who came home were all prominent citizens just as all those in the American Legion are prominent citizens today,” Foulks said. “They still are veterans and have never quit taking care of Florence.”
Further on in Foulks’ speech, he addressed current, living veterans as well and reminded them that their duty of service to the country goes beyond the battlefield.
“You are not done because you got a certificate saying that you were honored, served or became a veteran,” Foulks declared. “You’re still suppose to be working to further the United States. We must always be vigilant as to the men that represent us in our government, and we must always work for the better of the United States.”
As Foulks’ speech drew to a close, he left the audience off with a message as to how proud he is to be a Florence citizen and to honor the township’s legion for their continuous work to honor local veterans.
“I was always proud of being from Florence,” Foulks said. “I was always proud of our American Legion for doing so much, and the men of the American Legion who put this monument after World War I.”
