PARTA hosted its sixth annual Veterans Day ceremony at Kent Central Gateway on Monday, 

honoring the men and women who have served

in all branches of the military.

The ceremony took place at the Kent Central Gateway Veterans Memorial, which was designed by George Danhires, a Kent resident, artist and veteran. Dedicated in 2013, the memorial pays tribute to Kent veterans whose lives were lost in service.

“We gather today to thank our veterans, to remember their service, to honor their sacrifices and to grow our community’s appreciation for the freedoms we enjoy,” said Claudia Amrhein, the general manager of PARTA.

The ceremony was followed by the presentation of colors, performances of the National Anthem and “America The Beautiful” by the Kent Roosevelt High School Band, an invocation and a 21-gun salute.

Other speakers included Portage County Commissioner Mike Kerrigan, Portage County Board of Commissioners President Vicki Kline, Kent City Councilman Jack Amrhein and Kent Historical Society Historian in Residence Roger Di Paolo, who concluded the ceremony by reading the names of the veterans in the memorial.

PARTA Director of Marketing & Civil Rights

Frank Hairston said the reason for the Veterans Day ceremony stems from the idea of the veterans memorial.

“We wanted to do some form of veteran recognition because the Federal Transit Authority encourages transportation organizations to do some form of artwork to go along with a project,” he said. “So we decided we wanted to put in a memorial for veterans.”

Nate Burtzlaff is the Grad Students and Research/Transportation reporter. Contact him at [email protected].