HOLLAND, Mich. — Hundreds of veterans will gather at the Pinnacle Center in Hudsonville for the fifth annual “Welcome Home Veterans Banquet,” hosted by Lighthouse Baptist Church in Holland on Saturday, November 15.
The event, which begins with doors opening at 5 p.m. and formal activities starting at 6 p.m., provides a free dinner and a night of recognition for those who have served in the U.S. military.
The banquet, which has grown from an inaugural group of 36 honorees to more than 450 expected attendees this year, aims to express gratitude for veterans from all branches and eras.
“We adopted the theme ‘Welcome Home’ from the Vietnam Veterans, because many of them did not get a proper welcome home,” said Pastor Bart Spencer, a U.S. Air Force veteran and senior pastor at Lighthouse Baptist.
“It’s our way of saying thank you. The vet, plus one, they can bring whoever they want to bring with them, and it will not cost them a dime, nothing. They’ve already paid for that with their service to our country," added Spencer.
The evening’s program includes performances by the church’s youth and teen choirs, special presentations to World War II veterans, and the recognition of a Gold Star family, one who lost a loved one in service.
"Last year, we honored Andrew Seif, a Marine Special Ops unit, a MARSOC. And this year, just how it worked out, we have another MARSOC Marine, Daniel Price. We'll be honoring that and recognizing him and presenting something to his parents, who will be there with us," Spencer explained.
Additionally, original “Rosie the Riveter” women from across Michigan will join the youth choir to perform the Rosie Song. A highlight of the banquet will be the keynote address from Command Sergeant Major Archie Davis, a retired Army veteran who served in every major conflict of the last two and a half decades.
Among those being honored is Clarence Schipper, a 101-year-old World War II veteran who served in the Army Signal Corps.
Drafted at 18 from Grand Rapids, Schipper was sent to Normandy 16 days after D-Day, where he worked in a secret radar unit tasked with tracking German aircraft.
"We traveled quite a bit. We followed the second Armored Division, which was a link between the British and the Canadian Forces to the north," Schipper explained. “We were in northern France and went through the northern part of Belgium and the tip of the Netherlands that comes down Aachen and Maastricht."
He recalled their arrival at the Remagen Bridge, the first major crossing into Germany. “We guarded that, the German planes tried to bomb the bridge so the Americans couldn’t cross in the spring. This was in the winter,” he said.
From there, Schipper and his unit pushed further into Germany, ultimately reaching near the Czechoslovakian border. “We were in the battle zones. We were in the Battle of the Bulge, but we were not front line troops,” he emphasized.
Schipper might have not been on the front lines, but he was close.
“We tried to get up to two, two and a half miles of the front and set up our radar and control the planes from there,” Schipper recalled.
His unit received credit for 520 German planes downed and 220 damaged, as well as significant contributions during the Battle of the Bulge.
"I think it was 56 night fighters that we controlled that contacted planes," Schipper said. "Every noise or every something unusual, we are very alert to that. It’s either life or death."
The war nearly took him to the Pacific, but after the atomic bombs over Japan were dropped, Schipper’s unit was sent home.
“We wandered [into] New York Harbor, and the Statue of Liberty was there. I think everybody was teary eyed. Every soldier there was so happy to see United States again and see the Statue of Liberty that a lot of tears flowed, including mine,” he said.
“Today, I’m grateful for the time I spent in the Army in many ways. First, it gives you value, not only to self, but to the country in which we live. We are privileged, blessed beyond measure, more so than most people realize," added Schipper.
For Schipper, the event is about more than recognition.
“I enjoy the fellowship of fellow soldiers that have gone through a lot more than I have. Just grateful they are so thoughtful in honoring the men and women that have served. And it’s a privilege to be among a group of veterans," Schipper said.
Pastor Spencer, whose family has deep military tradition stretching back to World War I, started the event to ensure veterans of all generations feel valued and to instill appreciation for military service in future generations.
“We have a large, just an amazing youth program, about 50 little ones in our kids choir, and then we also have a teen choir, and we put on a whole program for them,” he said. “Our military service is part of our stewardship, responsibility to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.”
He emphasized the banquet is not only for combat veterans or those who served overseas. “It’s every veteran. It’s not just combat veterans. It’s not World War II or Korea or Vietnam. It’s right up to the latest conflicts or not conflicts at all, just the fact that you were in the military, answering the call for securing our liberties.”
To register for the November 15 banquet, veterans can call Lighthouse Baptist Church at 616-355-7027. Organizers ask veterans to register as soon as possible to ensure an accurate count for the catered meal.
“Liberty doesn’t pass down through the bloodstream, we have to pass it on,” said Spencer, encapsulating a quote from former President Ronald Reagan. “If we don’t pass it on to the next generation ... then we’ll be telling our grandchildren what it was like to live in America when it was free. We’re not going to let that happen."
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