Ceremony observes 80th anniversary of WWII battle

Lazaro Aleman ECB Publishing, Inc. A crowd of veterans, their friends, relatives and others filled the American Legions Hall to overcapacity on Sunday, Feb. 23, there to observe the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima and honor the memory of Sgt. Ernest “Boots” Thomas and veterans in general. Originally scheduled to be held at the Boots Thomas Memorial on East Washington St., the event had to be moved to the Legion Hall at the last minute because of threatening inclement weather. The ceremony, which Troy Avera moderated and which lasted about two hours, included an invocation by Dr. Jim Sledge, the traditional presentation and retirement of the colors by the Jefferson County