Veterans Day celebrations in Charlotte Amalie drew hundreds of participants, who took part in a parade up Veterans Drive, followed by a ceremony in the Fort Christian Parking Lot.
Lt. Gov. Tregenza Roach and Delegate to Congress Stacey Plaskett joined Adjutant Gen. Kodjo Knox-Limbacker standing under a decorated canopy as the parade passed by. Patrick Farrell, head of the Office of Veterans Affairs, and Sen. Marvin Blyden, joined the dignitaries on the reviewing stand.
About an hour later, they crossed the roadway and reassembled at the foot of the fort. Veterans from the American Legion, St. Thomas Post 90 and their supporters made up the audience while others stood nearby.
Master of Ceremonies Leslie Rhymer welcomed them all. “This was one of the largest turnouts in recent years, and we really appreciate you,” Rhymer said.
In his keynote address, the adjutant general offered his thanks to “those … who serve with selflessness and great honor.”
The V.I. National Guard 73rd Army Band regaled Knox-Limbacker with a medley of official tunes representing the U.S. Marines, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Army before he rose to speak. The Space Force was established in December 2019 through the National Defense Authorization Act.
The veteran chosen as the 2023 St. Thomas honoree was retired Master Sgt. Wilburn Hendricks, leader of the Army band for 27 years. A contingent of Hendricks family members came in from Smith Bay to cheer him on.
But not everyone who came to the ceremony came to cheer. One man loudly criticized officials, calling himself a homeless veteran living on the street. Plaskett acknowledged his complaint, saying those who served did not deserve neglect.
Plaskett also spoke of her father, who died recently, and the custom she and her children kept of calling him every Veterans Day to thank him for his service and hear his stories from the Korean War.
The lieutenant governor noted that Virgin Islanders served the nation in the military in greater numbers than many U.S. communities. “Even though we supply this country with so many of our young people, we continue to live in a place where we are treated differently,” Roach said.
Still, he said, he felt inspired by the roster of this year’s veteran honorees: Frank Powell Jr., on St. John; former Adjutant Gen. Reynaldo Rivera on St. Croix, and Hendricks on St. Thomas. “I urge each of you to continue to support veterans,” the lieutenant governor said.
