The Lemoore tradition of honoring the nation's military for Veterans Day continued at Lemoore High School Wednesday night, Nov. 12. Hundreds attended the 16th Annual Patriotic Concert "Esprit de Corps" at the school's event center to celebrate both veterans and active military.

The Navy JROTC color guard started and ended the evening as they paraded and presented the colors. Patriotic performances by Lemoore High choirs, ensembles and band, as well as precision drills by the NJROTC armed and unarmed drill teams delighted the crowd.

Theater arts students, under the direction of Kathy Palermo, theater arts instructor, read words from U.S. patriots and heroes they had researched and put together for the program. One of the great Americans quoted was Franklin D. Roosevelt, and his famous Four Freedoms speech delivered to Congress Jan. 6, 1941, just 11 months before the attack on Pearl Harbor:

"In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms.

The first is freedom of speech and expression, everywhere in the world.

The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way, everywhere in the world.

The third is freedom from want, which translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants, everywhere in the world.

The fourth is freedom from fear, which translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor, anywhere in the world ..."

Capt. Harry Zinser, U.S. Navy retired and LHS's Navy JROTC senior instructor, was the keynote speaker.

Zinser spoke of "The Greatest Generation," a term coined by journalist Tom Brokaw for his book of the same name, "those who were teens on Dec. 7, 1941 when Pearl Harbor was attacked. The generation who went to war, came home, and built America," Zinser said.

Zinser shared excerpts from Brokaw's book: "In combat they knew only one direction, Forward." During Battles in the Pacific such as Iwo Jima and Okinawa, he said, "advances were made one yard at a time with a maximum price in blood." As Admiral Chester William Nimitz once observed, regarding battle of Iwo Jima, "uncommon valor was a common virtue."

Zinser took time to honor local World War II veterans:

Jackie Scott, from Kentucky, enlisted in the U.S. Navy in Aug. 1943 and served the duration of the war plus six years. He flew anti-submarine patrols in the PB-1 aircraft.

Corby Dale, from Arroyo Grande, enlisted in the U.S. Navy 1944 and served the duration of the war.

Tim Lee, graduated from LHS in 1944 and then enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He served the duration of the war. Lee saw action in and around Iwo Jima.

Julian Mazuka, from Texas, enlisted in U.S. Army from Arizona in 1943. He served in Europe for duration of war.

Adam Hinojos, graduated from LHS in 1941 and joined the Army Air Corps. He served duration of war plus nine additional years in the Air Corps. Hinojos worked as a mechanic/technician on B-17s. He served in the squadron that launched the first wave of bombers over Berlin in 1944.

Seeley Sherman, from South Dakota, entered the U.S. Army in 1942 and served in Europe for duration of the war.

Bill Bowen enlisted in the U.S. Navy from Trenton, N.J. in 1942. He first flew light attack aircraft from carriers as enlisted aircrew and was later promoted to officer ranks. Bowen continued flying for the duration of World War II. He also flew in Korea and Vietnam. Bowen's wife Shirley, who joined him in the front row Nov. 12, drove ambulances for service personnel in the San Diego area throughout World War II.

Also honored during the ceremony was Jack Palermo (1923-2005). Palermo enlisted in U.S. Marine Corps 11 days after Pearl Harbor and served the duration of the war in the Pacific, including the battles of Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima. He later served at LHS as teacher, coach and board member.

Seated with the World War II veterans was Roy Rowell, who helped Zinser gather the group together for the Nov. 12 ceremony. Rowell is the president of Lemoore's American Legion Post 100 and a Vietnam veteran. He joined the U.S. Navy from Thomaston, Ga. in 1956 and retired in 1985.