Staff photo / Ed Runyan Phil Markovitz of Boardman, with the Catholic War Veterans Post 1222 of Youngstown, left, and Fred Shrock of VFW 9571 of Ellsworth place a wreath Monday at the base of the Man on the Monument in Youngstown’s Central Square as part of Mahoning County Veterans Day services.

YOUNGSTOWN — George Otto of Youngstown, the guest speaker at Monday’s Veterans Day ceremony at the Mahoning County Courthouse, served as a U.S. Army combat adviser in South Vietnam in 1971, but spent decades afterward helping veterans through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Otto focused most of his presentation on the many ways that the U.S. military and U.S. military veterans have shaped America — through the military’s educational impact, the lessons veterans learned, the self-esteem they gained and the way veterans continue to impact society after their military service.

“The greatest education institution in the history of the United States has been the United States military,” he said, noting the basic training, advanced training and other training they received, calling it “pretty impressive.” The training manuals written for military members “are some of the finest written documents in existence in this country,” he said.

The manuals were written by highly educated people because they had to be understood by a breadth of people. “They are almost breathtaking in their conscientiousness, conciseness, clarity and also quite understandable to the reader,” he said.

Many military members joined before they received their high school diploma, and some got help in earning their GEDs. Many veterans later used the G.I. Bill to get an education that helped them undertake careers in the most important positions in society, he said.

The U.S. military has “very much fostered the concept of teamwork,” he said, adding, “That is extremely significant, particularly in this day and age when there are not always a lot of people coming together to agree on a lot of things.

“The military under all circumstances demanded that people work together to carry out a particular mission, and it didn’t matter where they were from or who they were in terms of their age, education … they had to come together and carry out a mission.”

He said he thinks one of the greatest lessons military veterans learned is “they had to overlook differences and do something important. We have set a very good example to this country in terms of … teamwork,” he said of veterans.

Another thing the U.S. military provides is a “sense of belonging.” In his case, Otto can say that he is a “United States Army veteran. I served in the infantry. I served as an executive officer, also as an adviser. I also helped set up a drug treatment program.” It creates a “sense of self esteem,” he said.

Another result of being a military veteran — “without even thinking about it, is the promotion of patriotism,” he said. “The veterans have done so much in promoting the flag.” Many people are not very aware of the history of the United States, “but the events we promote do that,” Otto said.

Many military organizations like the American Legion have youth programs that “teach young people civics lessons.” Other veterans groups have Voice of Democracy programs.

He said veterans have “countless opportunities to promote patriotism.” Every veteran “is a walking, talking, important part of American history. We not only made history, we are history, and it should be recorded.” The Mahoning Valley is fortunate to have media who tell the stories of military veterans, he said.

Phil Markovitz of Boardman, with the Catholic War Veterans Post 1222 of Youngstown, explained during the ceremony the meaning of the wreath.

“This morning we are here to honor all veterans, men and women, that sacrificed through all of the wars on this Veterans Day,” he said. “It is our honor to take the wreath that was prepared for us by the Mahoning County Veterans Service Commission. We will march it over to the Man on the Monument, and we will place it in due respect for all of the veterans who have sacrificed in all wars for the United States of America,” he said.

The Man on the Monument is a U.S. Civil War monument in Central Square, a block down Market Street from the courthouse.

When the program at the courthouse was over, veterans were invited to sign the panels surrounding the new “Stand Together — A Veteran’s Flag” on display in the rotunda of the courthouse.