A large U.S. flag dangled between the extended ladders of two Radcliff fire trucks at the entrance of 100 Veterans Dr. before the start of the ribbon cutting ceremony of the Radcliff Veterans Center.
Pat Gentry drove south from Louisville for the ribbon cutting ceremony at the Radcliff Veterans Center because his 88-year-old father, who served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, moved in slightly more than a week ago becoming one of the first dozen residents.
"It's a very nice facility with top-rate care," he said.
Gentry also is a Navy veteran having served from 1973 to 1977.
Approximately 300 elected officials, veterans, guests and U.S. Army officers--including Col. Pat Kaune, Fort Knox's new garrison commander, were on hand for the ribbon cutting.
Coming in with a caravan of motorcycles, Stacy Pendleton rode in with her husband, Sgt. Maj. William Pendleton and other members of the Combat Veterans Association Kentucky Chapter 1-2 and auxiliary.
"We have supported the whole process of the veterans home through funds we have raised," she said.
The association strives toward helping less fortunate and homeless veterans in the surrounding area through various fundraising efforts.
Guests listened to various speakers keeping their remarks brief so the ribbon could be cut and visitors escorted around the facility.
Among those who spoke was state Rep. Jim DuPlessis who represented the legislature's Veterans, Military Affairs and Public Protection committee.
"We talk about how hot it is," he said. "I'm not too worried about the heat because I think about the forests of Vietnam--I think about Southeast Asia, the deserts of Iraq and about what our men and women have endured so we can sit here today. So, I'm happy to sit out here in this heat as a small reminder of what (veterans) did for us."
DuPlessis announced to the audience that as "awesome" as the Radcliff Veterans Center is, it still is not enough. During the last legislative session, he said, an almost unanimous vote of support was given to construct a similar facility in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
"We gotta figure out how to fund it, but it's coming," he said.
Lt. Gov. Jenean Hampton, a seven-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force with a tour of duty to Saudi Arabia during Desert Storm, served as the ceremony's keynote speaker.
"As a veteran, I understand the sacrifice that veterans make," she said. "As well as their families--we don't talk enough about the families enough--the sacrifice you make for your nation. The least we can do is take care of you when you're ready."
She said a facility such as the Radcliff Veterans Center is part of an ongoing commitment to support veterans. She expressed her pride to be able to take part in cutting the red, white and blue ribbon stretched across the center's entryway.
Also taking part in cutting the ribbon was Eugene Hill. He was the first veteran to become a resident of the center when family relocated him in May from Thomson-Hood Veterans Center in Wilmore.
The 91-year-old native of Franklin Crossroads was a U.S. Air Force flight engineer and accomplished machine gunner with the 15th Air Force. Hill enlisted in 1944 just two weeks before graduating high school.
He said he is happy in his new Caution-home.
"It's a good place to stay," he said. "Treatment is good."
Hill pointed out an M-60 tank that sat on a concrete slab about a 100 yards from where he was sitting.
"That's one of the tanks I used to work on for several years,"
he said. "It's got a 105 mm gun. I used to test fire them and everything."
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