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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Same time, different locations, one central theme: Honoring national warriors who do much more for their country than fight.</p><p>&#8220;To quote Thomas Paine,&#8221; ROTC cadet Joseph Lanning said during a Veterans Day ceremony at King&#8217;s College, &#8220;Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must undergo the fatigue to support it.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;They have dealt death to the enemy, but they have also pulled nations from the ravages of nature,&#8221; Marine Capt. Jeff Homza said at the Wilkes University event. &#8220;And oftentimes, service does not end when a member hangs up the uniform,&#8221; he added. &#8220;They serve our community with honor and distinction, just as they served our country.&#8221;</p><p>Both schools dealt with a bit of threatening weather. Clouds loomed over the Wilkes Greenway during the ceremony &#8212; briefly sprinkling light drops on attendants &#8212; and a fickle wind vacillated between mild and gusting.</p><p>King&#8217;s opted to move the ceremony from a planned outdoor setting into Burke auditorium, but the closing moments were nearly overpowered as groundskeepers immediately outside the building fired up roaring leaf blowers.</p><p>In both cases, nothing stopped or shortened the ceremonies, a fact that, in a small way, reflected qualities the speakers said are core in military service.</p><p>&#8220;They have left home; they have left the country to fight for our freedom, our way of life,&#8221; Homza, a Wilkes graduate student, said. &#8220;They are missing birthdays, holidays, cookouts, sporting events, all the things they enjoy.&#8221;</p><p>Calling it &#8220;selfless service to their fellow Americans,&#8221; Homza said many veterans never think of being thanked, even as they earn our thanks.</p><p>&#8220;The day we put the uniform on and we take our oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States,&#8221; he said, &#8220;we write a blank check, payable to the people of the United States, for an amount up to, and including, our very lives.&#8221;</p><p>Through much of the speech, Wilkes Emeritus History Professor Harold Cox stood in his vintage Command Sgt. Maj. uniform, his back stooped from age. Last year, the university named a building after Cox, 85, and he noted during a brief speech then that he has Alzheimer&#8217;s.</p><p>Cox did finally sit toward the end of Friday&#8217;s event, appearing to tear up as a bugler played taps. Asked what it meant to see people gather to honor him and other veterans, Cox replied, &#8220;I can&#8217;t describe it.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">People attending the Veterans Day program at King&#8217;s College Burke Auditorium Friday stand during playing of &#8216;The Star Spangled Banner.&#8217; </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_kingsvets01-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>People attending the Veterans Day program at King&#8217;s College Burke Auditorium Friday stand during playing of &#8216;The Star Spangled Banner.&#8217; </caption0><photoCredit0>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_kingsvets02-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">King&#8217;s College ROTC cadet Thomas Battinieri of Reading, left, and Sergeant First Class Steven Rice of Toccoa, Ga., carry a wreath to the stage at the Burke Auditorium Friday during the Veterans Day program at King&#8217;s College. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_kingsvets02-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>King&#8217;s College ROTC cadet Thomas Battinieri of Reading, left, and Sergeant First Class Steven Rice of Toccoa, Ga., carry a wreath to the stage at the Burke Auditorium Friday during the Veterans Day program at King&#8217;s College. </caption1><photoCredit1>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Mark Guydish</p><p>mguydish@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish</p></shirttailMeta></div>

‘Selfless service’ of those in military honored at King’s, Wilkes