VFW Post 1298’s annual Veterans Day program will be at 11 a.m. Friday at the post at 1965 Ky. 85. The theme will be “Courage.”

“It’s always held on Veterans Day. We honor everyone who served whether you served in war time or peace time,” VFW Post 1298 Commander Dean Frazier said. “We hold it on the 11th at 11 because the (World War I) peace treaty was signed 11/11/11.”

The speaker will be retired Maj. Gen. D. Allen Youngman, who served in the U.S. Army for more than 34 years, with 23 on active duty. His military duties included tours in Panama and Vietnam as well as on the Army staff and office of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. His awards include the Army Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Combat Infantry Badge, Master Parachutist Badge, Air Assault Badge and Special Forces Tab.

The colors will be presented by Warren Central High School JROTC. The U.S. Military Veterans Motorcycle Club will present the MIA POW ceremony. The VFW Auxiliary will have a special presentation. The VFW Honor Guard will pay respect to fellow comrades with a gun salute and taps. There will be a meal afterwards.

The ceremony has been held for at least 10 years, Frazier said.

“It keeps getting bigger and bigger,” he said. “It’s important to honor the veterans for their service.”

Other Veterans Day activities

Another Veterans Day program, also themed “Courage,” will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at Smiths Grove Cemetery. Veterans from VFW Post 1298 will participate in the program.

Western Kentucky University groups will have a Veterans Day Concert at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Southern Kentucky Performing Arts Center. It is a free concert, but tickets are required and can be obtained at the SKyPAC box office, WKU Athletics Ticket Office, Royal Music, Jackson’s Orchard and WKU Department of Music.

It features the WKU Symphonic Band, Jazz Band and Chorale performing a wide variety of popular American patriotic songs, marches and medleys for a musical tribute to our veterans and active military.

Air Force retired Col. Arnie Franklin will serve as the emcee and WKU President Gary Ransdell will welcome guests at the beginning of the program. The concert will celebrate the men and women of the U.S. armed forces through a musical tribute that includes the national anthem, marches by John Philip Sousa and others, fanfares and hymns by American composer John Williams, traditional military ceremonial music, the “Armed Forces Medley,” “America the Beautiful” and more.

WKU will also honor Veterans Day with a ceremony on campus at 11 a.m. with a wreath laying at the Guthrie Bell Tower.

As part of WKU’s International Year of South Korea, Korean War veterans will be recognized.

A Hall of Fame Induction will be held at the Stansbury Concourse on the second floor of Diddle Arena. The 2016 ROTC Hall of Fame Inductee is Col. Michael R. Devine, who graduated with his bachelor’s degree in 1965 and received his master’s degree in 1971.

Devine was commissioned into the Army as a 2nd Lieutenant. He was assigned to the 3rd Brigade Task Force of the 25th Infantry Division as a platoon leader where he fought in the deadly La Drang River Valley, Chu Pong Mountains and along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. He returned to Vietnam for a second tour of duty as a quartermaster officer. During his Vietnam service, Devine earned two Bronze Star medals, a Purple Heart and the Combat Infantryman’s Badge.

Devine made his Army-wide mark as a senior logistics officer, but he demonstrated courage, operational competencies and a warfighting instinct early in his career. Following the Vietnam war, he continued to serve his country and helped to transition the U.S. Army into an all-volunteer force. Devine went on to serve his country earning the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit with 1 Oak Leaf Cluster (OLC), the Meritorious Service Medal with 3 OLC, the Army Commendation Medal with 2 OLC and the Army Achievement Medal.

Devine, who lives in Franklin, Tenn., retired from the U.S. Army in 1995 after 30 years of service. He and his late wife, Nancy, also a WKU graduate, have two sons, Sean and Quinn.

Numerous area schools will have programs honoring veterans and Mammoth Cave National Park will offer free Mammoth Passage Tours on Veterans Day. Free tickets can be picked up at the visitor center for tours on the half hour from 9:30 a.m. to 12:20 p.m. and at 2 and 2:30 p.m.