Veteran's Day celebration turns into special occasion

By RAY CHARLES

VIEW STAFF WRITER

Veteran's Day is not just a day to remember the dead. For veterans, it's also a day to remember the living.

"This day provides us with a chance to get together and reminisce with old friends, and congratulate one another for still being alive to enjoy what life we have left," said Ed Gobel of the council of Nevada Veterans Organization.

On Nov. 11 Gobel and a host of Southern Nevada's veterans gathered to stage the first Family Veteran's Day Celebration.

The special event to honor veterans was co-sponsored by Nevada Power and was held at the Lowden Veterans Center and Museum.

The free event attracted dozens of spectators and military personnel, who said they were more than happy to attend on a sunny Saturday morning.

"I knew this would be," Gobel said. "And just think, this was our first time having this event."

Gobel said unlike other Veteran's Day events this one was put on by veterans -- for veterans.

"There were no high school marching bands or custom made floats around, because this event offered people the chance to get to know their veterans," he said. "This way people get a chance to look at real veterans, and see the equipment we used in earlier battles, as well as the uniforms and equipment of our opposing side."

People only had to go a few feet to the museum, where plenty of memorabilia from World War II to Desert Storm are available for public viewing.

Also outside the museum there was music being played by CONVO, a 31-piece veterans military band, which performed several songs for each branch of the military.

Gobel said it was nice to see all the supporters the veterans had. But he added that he hopes people don't just remember their veterans on holidays.

"Like right now we're collecting money for a disabled elevator for our veterans center, but sadly we haven't received the financial support from the community that we hoped we would get," he said.

Gobel did get some much needed support from political leaders and from the "Rat Pack is Back ," a group of local Strip entertainers who perform at the Sahara.

Tony Tillman who plays Sammy Davis Jr. in the Rat Pack said the group is often asked to perform at different functions, which is something he said is an honor.

"Compared to the other shows in town ours is kind of young, so when we're asked out to community events like this one we take it as a personal compliment.

"We took this invitation as an opportunity to come out and pay our respects to Las Vegas' veteran community," he said.

Tillman, 49, said because his character of Sammy Davis Jr. was in the military during a time when racial hatred was a strong part of the nation's personality, was a personal reason why he was proud to attend the ceremony.

"For me knowing what he went through in the military as a black man, and still feeling proud to wear his uniform makes me proud to attend the event to honor him and those like him," Tillman said.

Nevada Sen. Ray Rawson, R-Las Vegas, honored the veterans organization by handing them a check for $2,500 to help them with the handicap elevator.

"I promised Ed that after my election I was going to donate my leftover campaign money to the veterans organization," Rawson said during the ceremony. "But the only problem was there was no money left . So I decided to give some of my own money to make up for it."

Congresswoman Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., also made an appearance at the ceremony, and said she is an avid supporter of veteran's rights and functions.

"My father was in the military so I grew up in a military household. It's also one of the reasons I sit on the veterans affairs committee in congress," she said. "I went to several veteran's events today, and besides the downtown parade this event has, by far, attracted the largest crowd, which is a plus for our veterans."

Gobel said he was pleased with the support the ceremony received from local politicians.

"I think the politicians have come to recognize that 19 percent of Nevada's population is made up of veterans, and just about 70 percent of the registered voters are veterans and their family members," he said.

As the ceremony came to a close and the band played its last song of the day, several military personnel took the time to salute their wartime heroes and thank them for their service to their country.

"These guys blazed the trail for guys like me," Army Capt. Jeff Moser said. "I've been in the military for 30 years, and I'm proud to help carry on the tradition that these men and the men before them helped to start."