athered at Thomas C. West Field in Pine Grove, not only for the annual Valley vs. Hundred football game, but also for a ceremony honoring the 10th anniversary of the attacks of September 11, 2001, and to honor the nation’s fallen, active, and retired military and their spouses.

Admission to the game was free and the town of Pine Grove even renamed the street leading to the football field Veterans Memorial Drive.

Events began with each team’s football players, cheerleaders, and coaches forming a circle in the center of the field and the playing of the National Anthem by the Lumberjack Marching Band, accompanied by some 15 alumni band members.

The football players and cheerleaders then separated into two lines and stood to honor some 100 veterans or active troops serving in this country and elsewhere in the world.

Lumberjack Head Coach Tom West formally began the ceremony by stating the purpose for the event and describing his and the community’s respect and support for military personnel.

West then introduced U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class John Elligon and Army Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Lemay, who greeted and escorted each person recognized at the ceremony.

Military personnel attending the ceremony were introduced by their rank and service branch by West.

He then read a letter from U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, who spoke of his gratitude to VHS for hosting the event during the 9-11 anniversary. A representative of U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller echoed Manchin’s sentiments and expressed Rockefeller’s regrets that he could not attend the ceremony in person.

In addition, West’s wife, Linda, read a poem, “An American Soldier,” written by West’s great uncle, Zach Stout, in the early 1900s.

The ceremony concluded with a gun salute by the New Martinsville American Legion Post and Taps by VHS senior band member Brady Nolan and junior Caleb Norris, playing antiphonally from opposite sides of the field.

Military personnel who did not attend the ceremony are asked to send their name, rank and service branch to Valley High School, 1 Lumberjack Lane, Pine Grove, WV 26419.