Veterans Gather in Perry County to Honor Service and Sacrifice

On Veterans Day, the Paul E. Patton Eastern Kentucky Veterans Center became a room of memories and quiet gratitude as local veterans came together to honor those who served and to support one another. The informal gathering offered coffee and donuts, conversation and remembrance, and served as a reminder of the social bonds that shape life for those who once served in uniform.

Vietnam War veteran Kennith Isom urged people to pause at military cemeteries and remember what was paid in service and sacrifice. “I’d like for people to just stop and pause and think as they pass by a military cemetery, just kind of give them a little bit of a thought and because they died for freedom,” Isom said. He added a blunt assessment of what that sacrifice requires. “Freedom’s not free, freedom them has to be paid by blood, death, and pain.”

Inside the center, veterans recounted oaths taken decades earlier and the responsibilities that have followed. “I really honor the last verse of that oath. ‘So help me God,’” Isom said, reflecting on the solemn promises that framed his service. That sense of covenant extends beyond words to daily practice, as veterans at the center watch out for each other and offer mutual support.

Among the men who gathered was Charlie Click, who has spent nearly nine decades leaning on faith and music. Click said his life has been marked by both service and gratitude. “I’ve had a good life,” Click said. Another Vietnam War veteran, Jerry Wayne Frazier, recalled the raw fear of combat and the losses that followed him home. “There moments when you didn’t know where you were going to die really,” Frazier said. Those memories shaped how veterans formed bonds and how they continue to care for one another.

Isom also took time to acknowledge the staff who care for veterans at the facility. “They’re all fine, super girls and they go out of their way to be more kind and helpful to the veterans that send this facility and I just thank God for them and I appreciate everything,” Isom said. The comment highlights the human labor behind local veteran services, and the central role staff play in providing day to day dignity.

For Perry County residents, the gathering is more than a ceremonial observance. It is a demonstration of community resilience and of the practical need for accessible, compassionate services for aging and rural veterans. Social connection at places like the Eastern Kentucky Veterans Center can reduce isolation and offer informal peer support that complements medical and mental health care. Sustaining such facilities and their staff is a public health and policy concern that touches questions of access, funding and equity for veterans who live outside urban centers. As Veterans Day passed, the conversations in the center made clear that honoring service requires ongoing community commitment to care.