City of Brunswick holds Veteran's Day event

BRUNSWICK — The city held a Veterans Day event that consisted of speeches from veterans and performances of patriotic songs from the Brunswick High School String Quartet on Friday at Brunswick City Hall. Brunswick City Manager and veteran Carl DeForest was the guest speaker for the event. He spoke about his experiences in the Army and asked for people to think about who their heroes are during his speech. He said his heroes are veterans, and one hero specifically is his father, who fought in the Korean War. "Everybody here who has done their time in the military is a hero of mine," he said. "I respect and admire you. I hope that you feel that the community supports you, they care about you (and) they've given back to you like you've given back to others." Another speaker was Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9520 Senior Vice Cmdr. Rick Smith, who told stories of his being involved in pranks during his time in the service as well as other funny moments. He said once he thought ear plugs were pieces of gum because of its pink color. "I'm here to do more or less the comedy and things that we did to entertain ourselves in the military because who doesn't like to laugh?" he said. American Legion Post 234 Commander Pat Finn said the goal was to have the veterans think back to the positive times they had in the military as well as the good people they met. "Remember the good times that you had with your buddies," he said. "That's what we were trying to bring out this year (by) remembering your friends in the Army or the Navy or the Marines and some of the funny things (that happened.)" Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.