The City of Fredericksburg, Virginia, honored veterans with a walking procession from the city’s Memorial Park to the “Our Fallen Heroes War Memorial,” where this year’s annual ceremony was convened. On hand for the events with a wreath to present was BVA staff and Mid-Atlantic Regional Group member Michaun Harrison, who has also served for more than two years as the Secretary of the Fredericksburg Area Veterans Council. The voluntary Council seeks to restore and, in fact, enhance a new memorial to include the fallen from eras after World War I.

Speaking at the Veterans Day ceremony was Retired Sgt. Steven Hotz, who began his military career in 1988 and was one of the first to arrive for Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm. Ironically from a BVA perspective, Steve’s military career abruptly and unexpectedly ended when he experienced a physical reaction to an anthrax inoculation that caused blindness in one eye. He medically retired in 2012. Today, he serves veterans with PTSD, TBI, and general stress-related issues through his nonprofit Black Horse Forge.