Chris Lovett, Vietnam veteran, professor of social sciences and member of the Veteran’s Roundtable was the speaker for the annual meeting Thursday.

“Christopher Lovett’s contribution to the wealth of information that has been disseminated in the Veteran’s Roundtable is titled ‘The Great Adventure: Emporia’s Company L 137th Infantry in the Great War of 1917-1918,’” said John Sanderson, chair of the Veteran’s Roundtable.

Lovett’s presentation focused on an infantry that was based in Kansas, and some of the men who partook in World War I. The presentation worked to memorialize the men, while discussing the harsh experiences they had during the war.

“There was no command authority in the battlefield,” Lovett said. “There was no way for these men to round up and care for the wounded. They couldn’t move their artillery forward because of the cratering of the battlefield. All this was taking place and this was their first engagement.”

Gerald Hansen presented his father, Charles Hansen’s, WWI family heirlooms. Gerald Hansen showed his father’s discharge papers, photographs and dog tag.

“This stuff is disappearing,” Hansen said. “There are no more World War I veterans. This was just something that I thought maybe there were other people that I could share it with.”

Hansen came because of a KVOE story on the event.

“When they (these veterans) went they believed that (this was a) duty to their country,” Lovett said. “They wanted to go. This was an adventure for them and that’s why I called it ‘The Great Adventure.’ It was an earth shattering experience for them when they saw this up front and personal.”