Batesville’s Veteran’s Day program on the downtown Square Friday, Nov. 11, will feature a full lineup of patriotic songs and observances, highlighted by a short speech by U.S. Army veteran Kennedy Taylor, the local helicopter pilot for Air Evac Lifeteam and a certified flight instructor.

Taylor began flying in the Army in 1988 and retired in 2003 with 20 years of military service. His twin sons are currently Black Hawk helicopter pilots in the U.S. Army.

The Veteran’s Day program will be held at 11 a.m. and will include presentation of colors by the Air Force Junior ROTC Color Guard and the leading of the Pledge of Allegiance by Boy Scouts of America Troop 478.

The South Panola High School band will play the Marches of the Armed Forces, and all active and retired members of the military will stand when their branch has its song played. The band will perform The Marines’ Hymn, The Army Goes Rolling Along, Semper Paratus, The U.S. Air Force, and Anchors Aweigh.

The National Anthem will be performed by the Batesville Junior High School’s Corobella Choir.

Veterans Day is observed annually on November 11. It’s a holiday honoring men and women who have served in the U.S. armed forces, on the anniversary of the end of World War I.

The holiday was first called Armistice Day. It was established after World War I to remember the “war to end all wars,” and it was pegged to the time that a cease-fire, or armistice, occurred in Europe on November 11, 1918.

The armistice was signed on the 11th minute, of the 11th hour, on the 11th day, of the 11th month.