Hundreds of veterans, students, and community members are expected to converge on Downtown Winamac this morning to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. Winamac High School is teaming up with the Town of Winamac, the Pulaski County Public Library, and several other groups for the Veterans Day Celebration.
It starts at 9:00 a.m. EST with a program at Winamac Middle School. After that, a procession will set off for the Pulaski County Courthouse, heading west on Superior Street then north on Market Street. School officials say it will include more than 300 students and faculty members and block formations led by veterans from World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, and Afghanistan, as well as current veterans.
A ceremony is expected to begin at the memorial on the northwest corner of the courthouse lawn at 9:55. The procession will then move to the Winamac Town Park, where a closing ceremony will take place at the Memorial Bridge, also called the “swinging bridge,” at about 10:40. Veterans will then have a chance to eat lunch with the students at the high school.
School officials say a number high school of classes have worked together to research and create a biography of all 500-plus Pulaski County World War I veterans, with help from County Historian Karen Fritz and Sue Caldwell from the Indiana Genealogical Society.
The county commissioners formally approved the use of the courthouse lawn when they met Monday. Main Street will be closed to traffic between Market Street and U.S. 35 during the event.
The actual centennial of the end of World War I is this Sunday. Some government offices will be closed Monday, in observation of the Veterans Day holiday.
