The public is invited to the largest Veterans Day Ceremony in Southwest Ohio on Friday, November 11, 2022, at 10:30 a.m., at the Bicentennial Veterans Memorial Park in downtown Blue Ash.
The free event features a memorial ceremony, tolling of bells, music from the Ohio Military Band, and keynote speaker Jim Meyers. The 2018 Veteran of the Year, Meyers is a decorated Vietnam combat veteran, a former Special Agent with the U.S. Secret Service, and a former Commander of American Legion NE Post 630. Read his full bio below.
During the ceremony, students from Edwin H. Greene Intermediate School will read essays they have written for the event and will place wreaths at the base of the statues at the park.
Numerous area veterans and dignitaries will be in attendance. The program is organized by the Blue Ash Veterans Day Committee and is funded through sponsorship ads and donations.
Following the ceremony, the public is invited to a luncheon at the Blue Ash Recreation Center, 4433 Cooper Road. During the luncheon, Blue Ash Mayor Marc Sirkin and the Veterans Committee will recognize the 2022 Veteran of the Year. The meal is prepared by members of the 123rd Air Control Squadron. Cost is $5 per person.
Jim Meyers graduated from Gettysburg College in 1964 and began his military service in the US Marine Corps shortly thereafter. Upon graduation from the Marine Corps Officer Candidate School in 1966, Jim received small leadership training at The Basic School, Quantico, Virginia, followed by additional training at Camp LeJeune, NC. He was deployed to the Republic of South Vietnam in 1967 and assigned to the 2nd Batallion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division.
Jim is a combat Vietnam Veteran participating in numerous tactical patrols and operations, including Operations Tuscaloosa, Independence, Union I and II, Dixie, Essex, and the battle for Hue (“Hway”) City. In addition to his expert marksmanship badges, service, and campaign ribbons, he is also the recipient of several combat personal and unit awards, such as the Navy Achievement Medal with Combat “V,” Two Presidential Unit Citations, Combat Action Ribbon, and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Palm. His unit’s action, as well as his 13-month combat tour of duty, has been memorialized in author Lucia Viti’s book: Dr. Tom’s War: A Daughter’s Journey, published in 2010.
In 1968, after his combat tour of duty, Captain Meyers was selected as the Aide-de-Camp for Major General Mike Ryan, Deputy for Education, US Marine Corps, Marine Corps Base Quantico. Following his release from active duty, Mr. Meyers entered federal law enforcement and was commissioned as a Special Agent with the US Secret Service in Washington, DC, serving with the Nixon and Ford Presidencies.
Entering civilian life, Jim served a 25-year industrial career and credits his rapid rise to leadership positions to the training he received in the Marine Corps. He has actively led, at the executive level, several companies known for developing bioactive implantable products to reconstruct damaged human bodies. He holds 4 patents in the field of implantable medical devices and retired from that industry in 2004. He has served as a member on Boards of Directors in industry, venture capital, church, and charities.
Jim Meyers now resides in Blue Ash, Ohio, with his wife of 45 years, Susan Rose, with whom he is raising the “last in the ranks” of their six children. He has served on the Board of Fellows of Gettysburg College, and stays active in the Association of Former Agents of the US Secret Service, the Marine Corps League Detachment 968 in Deerfield, and is Past Commander of Northeast Post 630 of the American Legion in Blue Ash, Ohio. Jim was recognized as the 2018 Veteran-of-the-Year by the City of Blue Ash.
Original source can be found here.
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