Chandler's held their annual Veteran's Day Program to pay tribute to those who have served and protected our country. The intermediate classes of Mrs. Healy, Ms. Porter, Mr. Simpson, Mrs. Flora, and Mrs. White presented a musical that was accompanied by a slide show created by 8th graders in Mrs. Decker's Social Studies class.
Breanna Madison sang a solo, "American Tears." There were also two special guests, Mr. Joe Harlan and his son Mr. Joe Michael Harlan. Joe Michael Harlan presented the students with a short movie which depicts the activities that the 101st Airborne complete on a daily basis. He then spoke to the crowd about United States veterans and how important it is to honor them. The colors were presented by Jeff Gillepsie, a retired Army veteran.
Joe Harlan was a WWII veteran who was assigned to the 80th Blue Ridge Mountain Division, 3rd Army under General Patton. He was sent to Germany and was with the 80th Division when they crossed the Rhine River in Germany in March of 1945. He was taken captive in April of that same year by the Germans. After three days as a prisoner of war, he and his squad made an escape. The 80th Division entered the Buchenwalk Concentration Camp and a few weeks later liberated the Ebernsee sub camp of the Mauthhuasen Concentration Camp.
His son, Joe Michael Harlan, graduated from Adairville High School and WKU. He served with the 10th Special Forces Airborne Group (Green Berets) at Fort Devens, Massachusetts. In 1974 he was employed in the Civil Service by the Army at Fort Campbell working in the Outdoor Recreation Program and in the Division of the G3 Operations. He served in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. In 2005 he retired with 34 years of Federal Service.
Jeff Gillepsie is a 2o year veteran of the Army who served in Panama in Operation Just Cause, Desert Shield, and Desert Storm.
