Brig. Gen. Roy Windham, commander and assistant adjutant general of the Kansas Army National Guard, will deliver the keynote address Saturday as part of Iola’s salute to the nation’s veterans.
“Every Hero Has a Story” is the theme for the 2015 Veterans Day Celebration, which kicks off at 11 a.m. near the Veterans Wall on the courthouse square.
In addition to Windham’s comments, Iolan Becky French will sing the national anthem; Iolan Phil Honeycutt will provide the invocation and benediction; the Moran American Legion firing squad will volley a 21-gun salute; and Iolan Andy Dunlap will play “Taps.”
The annual parade will kick off at noon, featuring soldiers from the Kansas Army National Guard’s 891st Engineer Battalion.
The guardsmen also will carry a giant United States flag and drive various military vehicles.
Other veterans are invited to partake in the parade as well. A float will be available to carry any veteran who would prefer to ride in the parade. The float will be set up in front of the Allen County Historical Society Museum.
In between the ceremony and parade, the Iola Elks Lodge will serve up a bean feed.
And for the second consecutive year, an empty chair will be placed in honor of the late Alfred Link, one of the primary organizers for local Veterans Day celebrations until his death in March 2014.
WINDHAM brings with him a number of accomplishments.
He earned a bronze star medal, Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal with 2nd oak leaf cluster and the 1st Cavalry Division Order of the Combat Spur.
His assignments include serving as assistant division commander with the 35th Infantry Division; commander of the 235th Regiment, deputy chief of staff for logistics; and as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, he served as commander of Task Force Hurricane; deputy commander of the 130th Field Artillery Brigade; and deputy commander of Task Force Tornado.
He has also served in various command positions at the battalion and battery level.
Windham is a 1986 graduate of Officer Candidate School at the Kansas Military Academy.
In his civilian job, Windham works for the Army as a regional director of Network Enterprise Centers.
He lives in Junction City.
