Veterans Day 2025 - Eras of the Middle-East
ArtsQuest, along with partners Embassy Bank and Phoebe Ministries, will be hosting the annual Q&A panel for Veterans Day 2025 on Monday, November 10 at 9:30am in the Frank Banko Alehouse Cinemas, located on the first floor of the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks. The event will feature a panel discussion in which veterans Cheryl Ites and Nathaniel Smith will reflect about their time in the military during the commemorative event’s annual question-and-answer panel, hosted by Frank Gunter of Lehigh University.
Presented by Embassy Bank and Phoebe Ministries, this free welcomes all to attend. ArtsQuest is collaborating with local schools to bring in groups so seating will be limited. This event will also be livestreamed on Facebook.
CWO4 (Chief Warrant Officer 4) Cheryl G. Ites (US Marines Retired)
During her 35- year career, CWO4 Ites served three tours in Iraq during the First and Second Battles of Fallujah. CWO4 Ites’s primary role was as the officer in charge of the mortuary affairs unit responsible for the battlefield recovery, respectful processing, and transport of US, allied forces, and local national combat fatalities. Her unit’s work is currently the subject of an exhibit at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico, Virginia. CWO4 Ites was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and retired in 2009.
MCPO (Master Chief Petty Officer, E9) Nathaiel (Nate) Smith (US Navy Retired)
During his 24- year Navy career, MCPO Smith served on six different classes of ships, five being combatants, including the aircraft carrier USS Coral Sea (CV-43). His ships supported US operations in the Mediterranean Sea during actions against Qaddafi in Libya and Saddam in Iraq. On shore duty, MCPO Smith served as a Senior Instructor where he supervised the training of about 400 young men and women to be Navy Machinist Mates. MCPO Smith was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal and retired in 1999.
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