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Members of the Bainbridge community gathered downtown on Monday morning for this year’s Veteran’s Day ceremony. Mayor Edward Reynolds and City Councilman Don Whaley both participated in the opening ceremony. Local 4th grader Scotland Campbell performed the National Anthem, with the Bainbridge High School band performing the ceremony’s music. Bainbridge High’s AFJROTC presented the flags during the ceremony.

The main speaker for the day was Larry Prevatte, introduced by City Councilwoman Roslyn Palmer. Originally from Bainbridge, Prevatte was a DJ during high school, and would go on to serve in the US Navy from 1967 to 1971. He is also a part of the Patriot Guard Riders.

Prevatte began by acknowledging his deceased veteran family members, namely his father and brothers, as well as his mother. He then recounted a trip he made to Iraq as part of a group visit to entertain the troops.

“We were at the end of our seven days in-country,” he recalled. “We were standing in a little cordoned-off area at the base, waiting on our bus to take us back to the airplane… All of a sudden, this C-130 comes in and taxis off the main runway.”

The plane, Prevatte recalled, was delivering the bodies of two deceased soldiers. “All of a sudden about a dozen men and women came out of the buildings around there, and formed two lines at the back of this airplane. And they all stood at rigid attention, and one of them had bagpipes, and started playing ‘Amazing Grace’.”

“There was not a dry eye in our bunch,” he said. “It hit us all real hard.”

He also spoke to the crowd about the sinking of the destroyer USS Samuel B. Roberts in WWII, and meeting the last surviving veteran who served on the ship.

After Prevatte concluded speaking, BPS Chief Investigator Mark Esquivel named those veterans who had passed away this past year.

Councilman Whaley closed the ceremony with prayer.