BCC Veterans Day Ceremony

Broome Community College honored the service and sacrifices of veterans earlier today on campus.

The Color Guard arrived to kick off the ceremony with a gun salute,  one of the colleges music students sang the national anthem beautifully and we all received a few words from BCC President Kevin Drumm.  After the president finished next was Veteran Ronald Harrington, a Marine and BCC Business Student who was in active duty from 2006 to 2011.  Eleven months of those years were in Iraq. He was almost killed in Iraq in 2009, awarding him the Purple Heart.

Ronald was on a truck manning a machine gun as the truck drove over an improvised explosive device. Shrapnel hit him on his hand and shoulder. Ronald stated that if he had crouched, or bent over for any reason he would have been struck in the throat.  His comments included: "I could have died that day and you could die out at 81. And if you're living your life waiting for the weekend to be happy, living for payday to be happy, or living for a piece of paper to show you that you did something right, that's the wrong reason because you could die on Thursday. You could not make it to the weekend and that's not what this is about. Appreciate everyday. Appreciate those who have fallen for you and appreciate those who will take your spot so that you don't have to."