In a moving ceremony on July 3, veterans were joined by their families, friends, community members and Department of Veterans Affairs staff as Tomah VA in Wisconsin saluted area veterans over 100 years of age at its first centenarian celebration.
Director Karen Long presented six veteran centenarians a framed and hand-signed letter of appreciation and a special VA challenge coin from VA Secretary Denis McDonough. Five centenarians who had not already received a Quilt of Valor were also recognized and awarded with a personalized hand-made quilt by the Prairie Du Chien Pickett Fence Patriotic Pieces.
Veterans who were honored also took time to share moving stories about their experiences during World War II. They expressed how grateful they were to be recognized for their service to our nation.
Following the ceremony, veterans, their family members and members of the community had time to enjoy each other’s company and refreshments.
The centenarian program is a special initiative to honor veterans who have reached the age of 100. Since August 2023, VA’s Center for Development and Civic Engagement (CDCE) began coordinating these celebrations to honor veteran centenarians and have awarded almost 400 centenarians and special recognitions for those veterans in their late 90s across the country.
“Here at Tomah VA, the CDCE has just initiated the program in June 2024 and our July 3rd honorees were the first to be celebrated,” said Jennifer Conzemius, chief of Tomah VA CDCE. “We have roughly 20 more veterans scheduled to celebrate and recognize in the upcoming months.”
Holmen VFW Post 7908 co-hosted this event. Valley View Mall was also a partner and allowed the use of its community room.
If you have a veteran who will become a centenarian or is already a centenarian, go here for more information.
