Upper St. Clair To Honor Veterans With Ceremony

UPPER ST. CLAIR, PA - Veterans of all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces will be honored at a special Veteran Day ceremony Nov. 11 at 9:30 a.m. at the Upper St. Clair Veterans Park on McLaughlin Run Road.

Kyle Pirnat, an Upper St. Clair resident and Marine Corps Officer who held various leadership roles serving with combat distinction, will be the featured speaker. Pirnat's notable missions include conducting joint raids with the U.S. and Spanish Special Forces on known terrorist compounds, securing key terrain in Baghdad and critical infrastructure around Iraq, and numerous operations against Muqtada Al Sadr and the Mahdi Army. He also played a leadership role in helping to frame, coordinate and provide security for the first democratic elections in Iraq’s history.

Author and U.S. Marine Capt. Samuel Hazo will read his poem, “At the Site of the Memorial.” Hazo, founder and director of the International Poetry Forum in Pittsburgh, has authored numerous books of poetry, fiction, essays and plays. He is also McAnulty Distinguished Professor of English Emeritus at Duquesne University, where he taught for 43 years. A National Book Award finalist, he was named Pennsylvania’s first Poet Laureate by Governor Robert Casey in 1993, and held that position until 2003.

The Veterans Day program will feature musical performances by Upper St. Clair High School’s marching band and Chanteclairs. The Rev. Louise Rogers from Westminster Presbyterian Church will deliver the invocation and benediction. The Marine Corps League Color Guard Detachment 726 will present the colors and the South Hills Veterans Honor Guard Bethel Park American Legion Post 760 will render a gun salute. Upper St. Clair High School senior trumpeter Matt Hornak will play Taps.