PEORIA, Ill. – Operation Last Watch, started by local Navy vet Rick Otey, aims to honor Central Illinois veterans receiving hospice or end of life care.
“This is a last effort to say,’Hey, we really appreciate your service to our country, and is a way to relieve them of their service,” Otey tells WMBD’s “Greg and Dan Show”.
Operation Last Watch was initially created for a veteran too ill to take part in the Greater Peoria Honor Flights to Washington, D.C.
Otey says the small ceremony he created includes several symbolic gestures.
“We go in, have an opening prayer, say the Pledge of Allegiance or sing the National Anthem, we read the military service of the veteran, and relieve them of their watch.”
Otey says the American Flag and the flag of the veteran’s military branch are also displayed as part of the ceremony.
To learn more about Operation Last Watch, email Rick Otey at operationlastwatch@yahoo.com.
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