Veterans Day CeremonyVeterans Day Ceremony

Mitchell Community College will honor area veterans at this annual program. Mooresville resident Bill Lowrance will be the keynote speaker. Lowrance, a World War II Veteran, was in the first group to land on Omaha Beach in Normandy, France on June 6, 1944. Their assignment was to clear the area of enemy combatants, explosives, and land mines before the arrival of American troops and equipment. The invasion of Normandy was the beginning of the Western Allied efforts to liberate Europe from the Nazis. The operation, involving over 130,000 troops, was the largest single-day invasion of all-time. Lowrance was one of three medics to survive the invasion and helped bury 9,300 soldiers there. He also served in the Pacific where he participated in the invasions at Okinawa and Korea. Lowrance is a native of Rowan County.