The Sedona Historical Society will hold a Veterans Day event at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11 at the Sedona Heritage Museum at 735 Jordan Road.
The event will combine music, remembrance and a free lunch for the community provided by a local restaurant.
“Many of us have family members and friends who served, including during war times,” event host Shondra Jepperson said.“This annual event gives us an opportunity to honor them as well as our veterans who reside here in Sedona and the Verde Valley.”
U.S. Air Force veteran Doug McDaniel, who was a navigator during the Vietnam War, will present some of his stories.
2023 SHS Veterans Day Program
Starts at 11 a.m. and ends at approximately 12:30 p.m.
“America the Beautiful,” Tom Jepperson
Opening remarks, Sedona Historical Society Executive Director Nate Meyers
Sedona Area Veteran & Community Outreach procession, Don Clarke
National anthem, Tom Jepperson
“Taps,” Brad Moors
Remarks by Mayor Scott Jablow
Remarks by Coconino County District 3 Supervisor Matt Ryan
Remarks by Yavapai County District 3 Supervisor Donna Michaels
Sing-a-longs honoring each branch of the U.S. military
Keynote by Doug McDaniel, U.S. Air Force veteran
Patriotic songs by Jeanie Carroll
Closing remarks
Closing song “Here’s to You! Red White and Blue” by Sedona residents Terrie Frankel and Fred Shinn, performed by Tom & Shondra Jepperson
“I never would have gone into the Air Force if I hadn’t been exposed to the high values and the standards required by the military,” McDaniel said. “At the end of my time at university, I had to choose whether to go or not into the military. I did not qualify as a pilot, but I qualified as a navigator. I realized that I could fly airplanes all over the world if I did that, so I chose to enter the Air Force.”
McDaniel spent nine years on active duty followed by 13 years in the Air Force Reserves and would serve on aircraft ranging from bombers to fuel tankers.
“My most exciting AC-119 mission was providing air support for a forward observation team on a hilltop on the Cambodian border,” McDaniel wrote on the AC-119 Gunship Association’s website. “We stopped the ‘bad guys’ advance literally yards away from overwhelming our ground team. I will never forget the fear in the voice of our ground contact when I expressed my worry about firing so close to his position. His answer was: ‘We will be dead either way, but at least if you fire, we have a chance of surviving!’ His screams of joy as he encouraged us, ‘Keep firing. You are blowing them off the hill!’ will always echo in my memory. Then, after the firefight was over, he didn’t want to lose contact with his ‘angels in the sky’ and tried to keep our conversations going well past our bingo fuel time.”
“I wouldn’t have seen what I’ve seen if it hadn’t been for the decisions I made to go into the military,” McDaniel said. “[I’m] glad today, because my wife has medical challenges, and the military support for its veterans is fantastic. The amount of money it would have cost me out-of-pocket otherwise would have been unbelievable. So my decision turned out to be very wise.”
McDaniel said that his speech will deal with all who fought during the Vietnam War and will follow the lines of a 2009 speech that he gave at the ROTC commencement at Southern Illinois University.
“The key lesson for all of us is what you see depends on where you stand, and where you stand depends on the decisions you make as you go along,” McDaniel said. “The key to success is [to] make your decisions, all those tough decisions we face all the time, based on high standards and values, and you will end up seeing wonders that you had never even dreamed about before.”
“It’s important for us to remember our veterans,” Jepperson said. “Every year we’re putting out more chairs. Last year, we had 174 people there, there’s a lunch afterwards. And we have different [information] tables of people who are associated with services for veterans and we’ll also have a live bugler.”
Retired Master Sergeant Brad Moors from the U.S Army Band, who also served as a bugler at Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery, will be playing “Taps” during the event.
“Members from several organizations which provide essential services to our veterans will be on hand, including Catholic Charities Veteran Assistant Program, Sedona Elks Lodge, [Sedona Area Veteran & Community Outreach] Toys for Tots, MATForce Assistance Program, Habitat for Humanity, Health First Foundation and Sedona Community Food Bank,” the event’s press release stated. “The Oak Creek Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution will assemble a parade of American flags at the entrance to the Sedona Heritage Museum.”
Parking at the Jordan Museum’s main and lower lots will be open, but those spaces are expected to fill up quickly. A free shuttle will pick up attendees at Uptown Parking Lots 1 and 5 on Schnebly Road. The shuttles will start running at 10:30 a.m. until “no one needs it anymore,” museum Executive Director Nate Meyers said.
For more information about Sedona’s 2023 Veterans’ Day Tribute, visit sedonamuseum.org or call (928) 282-7038.
