Saluting Surry's Military Families

The article from out Local Newspaper along with the Front Page photo!
DOBSON — Kynsley Penney is only 2
years old, but she’s acutely aware of why her
father Scott is no longer home at night.
“Anytime she sees a flag she’ll recite the
pledge of allegiance,” said her mother, Dobson
native April Penney. “She knows her
Daddy is a soldier. She talks to him often.”
Sunday afternoon, Kynsley’s impromptu
recitations of the pledge had their first
audience — a crowd of several dozen gathered
despite the rain at Fisher River Park to
pay tribute not just to veterans and active
servicemen but also to the family members
they are forced to leave behind.
Acknowledging the sacrifices’ made by
the families of servicemen was a reoccurring
theme at the county’s 3rd Annual Military
Appreciation Day.
“It a small way we can show today how
much we appreciate them. But it should
also be a reminder to all of us of the casualties
and emotions here at home,” Kent
Gerber, a member of the county’s parks
and recreation advisory committee, told the
crowd. “ e best thing we can do for our
military men in the field is to be a source of
comfort and support to their families back
home.”
For April Penney, that care is encouraging
given that her husband, an Army corporal,
is stationed in Afghanistan as part of
a 15-month tour-of-duty with the 527th
MP Company.
“It’s comforting to have support, especially
in my hometown,” she said following
the ceremony.
The event was open to both veterans andd
the families of those now serving overseas,
offering free food and music at the Edward
Jones Amphitheater. Representatives from
the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs
were on hand to answer questions about
federal assistance that is available, while the
American Legion Post 123 Honor Guard
conducted the honorary ceremonies.
Whether through the words of speakers
or through the banners hung in honor
of veterans, a theme of remembrance ran
through the park.
“A lot of people take freedom for granted,”
County Commissioner Paul Johnson of
Pilot Mountain told the crowd. “We enjoy
the best life there is in the United States,
and it is because of our military that we
have these freedoms to enjoy.”
About a hundred feet from the stage,
the words “Never Forget” blew in the wind,
one of several banners made by participants
in the county’s summer day camps on display
Sunday. It included the names of every
single solider killed while serving in Iraq or
Afghanistan.
Gerber said news of sacrifices has too
often been relegated to the back of people’s
minds, with domestic concerns on issues
such as gas prices dominating newscasts.
He recounted the emotional struggles.