Celebrating W.Va. Veterans This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, with West Virginians historically serving in the military at high rates, Veteran’s Day is a day that means a lot to a whole lot of people in the state. In this show, we celebrate and remember our Mountain State men and women in service.

Less than one percent of the population of the United States are currently serving in the military and less than 10 percent are veterans. During his 22 years of service in the US Army, James McCormick from Mason County, West Virginia was awarded three bronze stars and a silver star along with three purple hearts. He is currently the vice commander of the National Order of the Purple Heart. Eric Douglas spoke with McCormick by Zoom earlier this week to hear his thoughts on expanding the day to celebrate those who have served.

In honor of Veteran’s Day, we listen back to a story our Inside Appalachia team produced back in 2017. Roxy Todd went to talk with veterans in Martinsburg, who are learning to cope with pain with meditation and yoga.

We are sad to report that since that story originally aired in 2017, veteran Staci Sage lost her battle with cancer. The Martinsburg VA is not doing in-person yoga classes at this time, due to COVID-19. However, they are offering yoga and other wellness classes virtually online.

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