Belmont County Correctional Institute Celebrates America 250 With Veterans
The Belmont County Correctional Institute celebrated the 250th anniversary of the United States’ independence on July 22. The service was organized for the Belmont Incarcerated Veterans Organization (BIVO).
BIVO is a veteran’s group managed by Unit Manager Jake Lucas. Members are screened using records from the VA. The group meets once a month and hosts fundraisers for nonprofit veterans agencies, typically by partnering with outside food vendors to sell food to raise the money. BIVO’s membership numbers are somewhere around the low 60’s, but not every veteran in the facility wants to be a member.
The service began with the BIVO color guard lowering the flag to half-staff as one of their members played Taps on a bugle. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited, followed by a prayer.
Two BIVO members were then called to deliver two poems. Mr. Hall and Mr. Clyde came forward to present “In Flanders Fields” and “The Answer” respectively.
“In Flanders Fields” was written by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, a physician in the Canadian Army in 1915 when World War I had just begun. The iconic poem is famous for its contrasts between the peaceful beauty of life and nature with the death and destruction caused by war. Ultimately, the poem serves as a reminder of the toll war takes. The poem ends on a question. “Will someone pick up the torch and continue the cause that so many have died for?”
“The Answer” is one of many responses written by American poets. It declares that the US will take the lessons from Flanders and carry them onward. It declares that 10 million hands will carry on the torch of freedom so that peace can be restored to the Earth. The two poems contrast the two sides of remembrance, emphasizing the need for reflection while also moving forward.
After the two poems, a moment of silence was observed for those who gave their lives for our nation, followed by the two speakers for the service.
The first speaker was Larry Barnes, the commander of American Legion Post 159 in St. Clairsville. Mr. Barnes gave remarks that reflected on the sacrifice that so many have made and reinforced the need to continue to uphold the ideals of our nation.
The second speaker was Unit Manager Jake Lucas. Lucas is an Iraq War veteran who served in the Army. Among the remarks he made was: “As we celebrate America 250, I ask all of us to remember, our country is the strongest when we choose to see each other not as enemies, but as fellow Americans. When we listen more than we shout. When we build more than we tear down. When we honor the past, but refuse to be limited by it, the next chapter of American history is ours to write. And I believe with the same conviction I carried overseas; we can write a chapter worthy of the generations who will follow us.”
To conclude the service, American flag pins were distributed to the members of BIVO and the flag was raised.
After the service, Lucas answered a few questions about his experiences with incarcerated veterans. When asked how veterans end up in prison, Lucas said that roughly the most common story was this: “They got hooked on painkillers, maybe because of an injury they sustained during service, and just went to street drugs from there.”
Lucas explained that once they were hooked, other harmful behaviors would start, such as stealing. Lucas recommended that any struggling veterans go to the Veterans Center in Bethlehem. The center provides free counseling services to veterans for a variety of issues.
A member of BIVO, Andrew, is a combat veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan. His message for struggling veterans was: “Go to the VA. Get the help they give you.”
[Barnesville Area News Company©]
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