Veteran's Day

Each year, McMurdo Station and Scott Base celebrate Veteran's Day together, with the site alternating between the two.  Scott Base hosted the celebration this year and a shuttle was run from McMurdo for those able to attend.  Despite being out of the Army for almost 7 years now, this was the first time I actually attended a Veteran's Day celebration.  Attendees consisted of New Zealand Defense Forces personnel, US Air Force and Army National Guard personnel, high ranking management from both stations, and the US veterans that were able to take the morning off to attend.

The ceremony lasted a little over an hour and was simple, yet respectful.  First, we gathered outside by the flag pole where both flags were lowered to half staff, a moment of science was observed, and an invocation given.

(The yellow sign seen between the Kiwi soldiers gives the distance from Scott Base to various major cities around the world (in kilometers of course).  I have a close up picture of it I plan to include in a later post about Scott Base.)

After the invocation, we moved indoors for the remainder of the ceremony.  After posting the colors, the Kiwis sang their national anthem, the American's sang ours, and speeches were given by both Kiwi and American personnel.  Sadly, I found the American's participation to be a bit embarrassing. The Kiwi speeches sounded prepared and rehearsed, and it sounded at though some effort had been made to view the day as a joint celebration, despite differences in name and typical observation style.  On the other hand, the American speeches sounded hastily prepare and geared toward the American audience, with just enough mention of New Zealand to acknowledge that we were guests at a New Zealand facility.

After the speeches, a short POW/MIA Remembrance ceremony was held.  It was a very powerful ceremony, with the two soldiers taking turns setting objects on the table as two narrators (one Kiwi, one American) took turns telling the audience what they symbolized.

For those not familiar with the ceremony, here is a sample script that I found online. Upon returning to McMurdo, I discovered that one of the tables in the chow hall had also been set up to remember.  The the kitchen staff's credit, it is still set, 4 days later.

Setting the table concluded the ceremony for the day and we were invited to join the Kiwi's for lunch.  Unfortunately, I turned the offer down and returned to McMurdo to discover that after breakfast that morning, the dish washer broke down and lunch was a salad bar on paper plates with plastic silverware.  Be careful offering me food when I get back, I've learned my lesson about declining a meal!