Miami R-1 Veteran's Day Program

Retired Air Force Major John Ephland to Speak at Miami R-1 Veterans’ Day Observance.

On November 11, all U. S. Veterans are invited to attend the Veterans’ Day observance in the Miami R-1 auditorium at 10:45 a.m. When arriving, please use the south gym entrance. FFA members will escort veterans to the library where juice, coffee, and muffins will be served by the Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America students.

Retired Air Force Major John Ephland will be the guest speaker for the event. John attended school at Miami School system from 3rd – 11th grade, and then moved to Butler for his senior year, graduating in 1970. He was selected to attend the USAF Academy in June 1970, and graduated in June 1974 as a 2nd Lieutenant, USAF, with a BS in Computer Science. He got to fly a T-41 (Cessna 172) 25 hours with some solo time at the Academy, and passed the evaluation, so after graduation he went on to pilot training for 1 year, flying a T-37 and T-38 for 200 hours of twin-engine jet time. John chose C-141 Cargo jets (4-engine) to fly, and ended up flying them for 18 years, over 4,000 hours; the last 13 years he was an Instructor Pilot, and taught over 1000 pilots to fly the C-141. He retired as a Major, with nearly 21 years active duty.

John got to fly the C-141 to almost every continent; US, Panama, Canada, Puerto Rico, a dozen Pacific Islands, most of SE Asia, Thailand, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Australia, Diego Garcia Naval Air Station (Indian Ocean), Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Europe, England, Spain, and Turkey. His crew almost made it to Antarctica, but the weather went bad, and we had to turn back without landing there. John flew in Desert Storm, Jan ‘91. God has led and protected us through many miles and many years. It is through His grace and mercy that we are here now.

The assembly will pay tribute to all branches of the military for their duty and sacrifices to our country and its citizens. After this observance, all Veterans and their spouses are invited to eat lunch in the cafeteria with FCCLA members. Please join the Miami R-1 School District to help honor the past and present U.S. Veterans.

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