“Veterans Day is a sacred pause. A moment to look each other in the eye and say, ‘I remember. I understand. I am grateful.’”
~Staff Sergeant Carl C. Adams, Nov. 11, 2025
Tuesday morning’s annual Logan County Veterans Day recognition ceremony ended up moving to the Holland Theatre sooner than usual due to below-freezing temperatures, but the sentiments shared focused on the warmth of remembering what members of the military have given to our community, our state and our country.
The service started at the Logan County Courthouse flagpole. Once everyone was inside the theatre, Joe Messner, American Legion Post 173 financial officer, introduced the event’s guest speaker.
Staff Sergeant Carl C. Adams, a Bellefontaine native, serves as assistant operation chief at the Marine Corps Security Forces Training Company in Chesapeake, Virginia. His awards include achievement medals in the Navy and Marine Corps.
After enlisting in June 2011, Adams graduated from recruit training in South Carolina, then reported to Infantry Training Battalion School of Infantry at Camp Geiger, North Carolina. His service included being deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Inherent Resolve in eastern Syria.
During Tuesday’s ceremony, Adams focused his speech on the American spirit.
“We are different in uniform, but united in spirit,” he said. “We are many in branch, but one in purpose.”
He spoke of the challenges he faced in military service, from carrying kits and ammo weighing 200 pounds to facing extreme environmental elements like sandstorms and flooded swamps to the mental strain of missing loved ones and many of their life milestones. And he’s determined it’s the strength of the American spirit that makes it all possible.
Adams concluded, “When you look up to gaze upon our national colors, flying high and true, we all understand it’s not waving from the air that blows in the wind, but by the last breath every service member gave when they died to defend it.
“For as long as we raise honored men and women of character who are willing to go forward voluntarily, we will forever be a nation to be proud of.”
