Patriotism on display at Sun City, Shelter Cove Veterans Day ceremonies

Serenading hundreds on Veterans Day with songs from various U.S. wars gave Sun City Singers member Jack McTague a special feeling.

It also was fitting: McTague is one of three members of the Singers who are veterans themselves.

"It's good to be recognized, especially when you're older," said McTague, a U.S. Air Force veteran who served from 1951 to 1955 in the Korean War. "We sung with zip today."

Tuesday's ceremony at Sun City Hilton Head was one of several in Beaufort County to honor veterans. Observances also were held in the city of Beaufort and on Hilton Head Island.

At Sun City, McTague's white Singers' shirt was complemented by his Air Force hat, making him one of many veterans wearing hats to signify their service. Veterans of each military branch were honored during the hour-long ceremony and asked to stand when the Sun City Singers performed each song.

Brig. Gen. Darlene Goff, assistant adjutant general of the S.C. National Guard, thanked the veterans.

"Your selfless service, and that of all veterans, is never forgotten," Goff told the assembly.

Female veterans also were honored. Goff said 11 percent of the 2.5 million service members deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq have been women, and the recent change allowing women to serve in combat roles could make women's participation on the battlefield more common. At a recent Junior ROTC graduation at Fort Jackson in Columbia, Goff said, women outnumbered men for the first time.

She also said the S.C. National Guard was gearing up to send its first woman to combat school, where she will train to be on a field artillery team.

"Women share the same commitment and courage to serve," she said.

In addition to the performance by the Sun City Singers, members of the Bluffton High School Junior ROTC and the Sun City Veterans marched during the ceremony.

Sun City resident and Vietnam veteran Roland Lemke wore his green U.S. Army-issued uniform during the procession, the same one he wore from 1963 to 1966. Several people came up to thank him for his service, and one woman quipped that she was shocked the uniform still fit after 50 years.

"I wear it whenever I march," he said. "I'm proud I served and so are all the other veterans who did."

Lemke's wife, Andrea, said her husband didn't wear his uniform for almost 30 years after being discharged, packing it away after he was spit on and screamed at when he returned home.

Andrea Lemke said he never spoke about his service until the couple attended a parade in their native Wisconsin 15 years ago. There, an active-duty service member approached and thanked him. The gesture marked the first time anyone had thanked him for his service, and it brought him to tears.

Since then he's worn his uniform to parades and ceremonies, encouraging other veterans of all ages to do the same, Andrea Lemke said.

"It was not a very popular war," she said. "It evokes strong emotions, some good memories and some not so good memories. It was unlike any other war."

Follow reporter Matt McNab at twitter.com/IPBG_Matt.

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This story was originally published November 11, 2014 at 1:28 PM with the headline "Patriotism on display at Sun City, Shelter Cove Veterans Day ceremonies."