Oct. 13—Plans are underway to hold major Veterans Day activities in McAlester on Nov. 11, including a luncheon banquet and an evening concert by a military band.
The banquet and an accompanying program is from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the McAlester Scottish Rite Temple at 305 N. Second St., or the corner of Second Street and Adams Avenue. Doors will open at 10 a.m., with tours of the Scottish Rite Center available prior to the luncheon.
U.S. Army Ammunition Plant Commander Col. Michael F. Hammond is featured speaker for the event. Other activities include a presentation of colors by the McAAP Fire Department and a swearing-in ceremony for a group of new military recruits. Also, military recruiters plan to set up in the lobby at the Scottish Rite Temple, for anyone interested in joining military service.
The banquet is free for U.S. military veterans along with active-duty personnel and members of the National Guard and reserves upon showing their military identification, organizers said. Cost for everyone else is $25 per person or $200 for a table. For arrangements to attend the banquet, phone the Scottish Rite Center at 918 423-6360.
That evening, the 77th U.S. Army Band from Fort Sill in Lawton is performing a free concert in the auditorium at the Scottish Rite Temple. Plans call for doors to open at 5:30 p.m. for a meet and greet social activity prior to the Veterans Day concert, with Nov. 11 falling on a Friday this year.
With limited seating available for the concert, details on how to obtain concert tickets are expected to be released after Nov. 1, organizers said.
A committee meeting at the Scottish Rite Temple is planning the Veterans Day activities. Participants include the Indian Nation Chapter of the Scottish Rite President Dennis Wilson, along with volunteer Jeff Wolf, representatives from military service groups, the McAlester Public Library, the city of McAlester, representatives from the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant and other volunteers.
Asked how the event came together, Wolf said McAlester-area residents have always been super patriotic. Fort Sill and the 77th U.S. Army Band have always been so good to support the Armed Forces Day activities in McAlester that he wanted McAlester-area residents to have an opportunity to hear the band in a concert setting, said Wolf, who is also chairman of the Armed Forces Day committee.
In addition to the marching and concert band, the 77th Army Band has a breakout jazz and a rock band, said Wolf.
"It's really good music," Wolf said, mentioning the outstanding musicianship of the band members. "It's very entertaining."
With things coming together for the Nov. 11 concert, Wilson wanted to do a luncheon in recognition of Veterans Day.
"We talked about it and thought it would be a good idea," Wilson said, noting that the city of McAlester also wanted to get involved with it, along with the other groups.
In addition to the Nov. 11 concert, the 77th U.S. Army Band is returning to McAlester on Dec. 15 for a free 7 p.m. Christmas concert at S. Arch Thompson Auditorium in McAlester, Wolf said. No tickets are required for the Christmas concert at the larger auditorium, with more details to be released later.
Organizers for the Nov. 11 event are working in conjunction with the military service organizers, who will also be offering Veterans Day activities for veterans on Veterans Day. Other activities include:
—American Legion Post 79 breakfast beginning at 7 a.m. at the American Legion building at 400 S. Second St.
—Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1098 traditional afternoon dinner at 2 p.m., in the VFW building at 1426 Morris St., Krebs.
Contact James Beaty at jbeaty@mcalesternews.com.
An Insider map shows the essential points Russia would have to attack to wipe out the US's nuclear forces, according to a nuclear weapons expert.
Russian forces have been forced to pull obsolete, Soviet-era tanks from storage to compensate for the losses of modern equipment in battle.
UKRAINSKA PRAVDA - FRIDAY, 14 OCTOBER 2022, 16:31 The Security Service of Ukraine has discovered a warehouse with hundreds of rockets for MLRS, anti-tank missiles and mines; these were abandoned by Russians in the liberated village of Velyka Oleksandrivka, Kherson Oblast.
The former House speaker's hot take on the ex-president livened up an interview.
UKRAINSKA PRAVDA - THURSDAY, 13 OCTOBER 2022, 23:07 The head of a department at the office of the Mayor of Moscow was sent to fight in Ukraine without any combat experience. Russian media report that the official has been killed in hostilities in Ukraine.
UKRAINSKA PRAVDA - THURSDAY, 13 OCTOBER 2022, 20:09 Explosions rang out in the Russian city of Belgorod [located to the northeast of Ukraine, not far from the Russian-Ukrainian border - ed.] on the evening of 13 October.
HANNAH MCKAY/ReutersOn Thursday, just 37 days after being appointed British finance minister, Kwasi Kwarteng was asked if, in a month’s time, he would still be in his job and Liz Truss would still be prime minister. “Absolutely, 100 percent,” Kwarteng answered. “I’m not going anywhere.”Less than a day later, he was gone. Truss’ Friday removal of Kwarteng—her closest ideological ally—from the second most powerful role in government so soon after choosing him to run the British economy is easily t
VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - THURSDAY, 13 OCTOBER 2022, 14:37 The Air Force Command of Ukraine's Armed Forces has confirmed the loss of one SU-24M aircraft. Source: Yurii Ihnat, spokesman for the Air Force, in the comment for Ukrainska Pravda Details: According to Ihnat, the bomber supported offensive actions in the eastern front, where it hit designated targets.
Ukrainian missile units and fighter aircraft destroyed five Ka-52 attack helicopters, 17 Shahed-136 kamikaze drones and two Zala Lancet drones on Oct 12, Air Force Command has reported on Telegram messenger.
Pelosi said she worried about Pence still being in the Capitol building, and advised him to keep his location secret.
Video shows file boxes being loaded onto a plane carrying Trump from Mar-a-Lago to his New Jersey golf club.
NATO countries are sending air defense weaponry to Ukraine amid deadly Russian aerial attacks.
KATERYNA TYSHCHENKO - THURSDAY, 13 OCTOBER 2022, 20:14 Russia has acknowledged the deaths of several of its conscripts in Ukraine. Russian media reports that these soldiers have been sent to the front without training.
Israel is providing Ukraine with basic intelligence about the Iranian drones Russia has begun to use to attack Ukrainian cities, U.S. newspaper the New York Times reported on Oct. 12, with reference to a senior Ukrainian official.
As Russia bombarded Ukraine this week, military observers were left wondering about how many and what types of missiles Russia still has in its arsenal. It remains unclear if Russia has enough weapons to continue the strikes against Ukraine with the same intensity that began following the Oct. 8 explosion on the Kerch Bridge to the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula.
The Ohio lawmaker gets called out for trying to deflect from the day's big news about Donald Trump.
(Bloomberg) -- Even before sanctions cut off access to vital components and technologies for President Vladimir Putin’s defense industry, an internal Russian government review found years of attempts to reduce reliance on imports had largely failed.Most Read from BloombergRolex Prices to Drop Further as Supply Surges: Morgan StanleyWorld Faces New Threats From Fast-Mutating Omicron VariantsPutin Tried for Years to Stop His Military From Using Western Parts — And Mostly FailedStocks Upended by In
KATERYNA TYSHCHENKO - THURSDAY, 13 OCTOBER 2022, 23:06 President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that Russian commanders use mobilised [soldiers] as "cannon fodder", but this creates essential pressure on Ukrainian defenders.
THURSDAY, 13 OCTOBER 2022, 19:31 Workers of the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) are figuring out whether employees of Antonov State Enterprise cooperated with Russia, which could have led to the destruction of the world's largest An-225 Mriya [Ukrainian for 'dream'] aircraft at the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.
USS Zumwalt's Japan visit "seems ordinary" but "was actually a culmination of years of hard work and planning," the ship's command master chief said.