Scholarships Named In Honor Of 2 Veterans From Miami

It's Veterans Day and people in Green Country are saying thank you to those who sacrificed for our freedoms.

The parade in Miami almost didn't happen Friday, but volunteers took it upon themselves to make sure the honor could happen this year.

Among the participants in Miami’s Veteran’s Day Parade, were the families of two veterans who will have scholarships created in their honor.

Air Force TSgt. Jason Norton, and Army MSG Darrell Denny Easter‘s names are memorialized at the Elks Lodge as a reminder of the sacrifices they made for our country.

Easter was a Vietnam Veteran who died in 2018. Norton was killed in action in 2006 in Iraq when his Humvee struck an IED.

Elks Lodge Veterans chairwoman, Kimberly Payne, said it's their way of showing these brave men haven’t been forgotten.

“I think today, I think our kids are kind of gotten away from that and they don’t really understand the sacrifices that are veterans are making for us every day,” Payne said.

Elks Lodge Secretary, Kim Sargent, said when she learned about Norton and Easter’s stories, she and the other volunteers wanted to include them in this year's Veterans Day Parade.

When they learned there wasn’t a parade scheduled in Miami this year, they worked with the American Legion for two months to get one ready.

"In all these communities, nobody’s doing anything for veterans on Veterans Day so this is really important to us,” Sargent said.

Their determination for recognizing the men doesn’t end there.

“In honor of them we are doing a veterans memorial scholarship to be awarded to two local high school kids coming this spring,” Payne said.

The Elks lodge plans to hold fundraising events before determining how big the scholarships will be.