By: Keith Kappes
Columnist
Carter County Times
Veterans Day will have come and gone by the time your read this but showing respect and appreciation for our men and women in military uniforms must never stop.
From the ceremonial wreath laying at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery to the planting of miniature flags on the graves of deceased veterans in local cemeteries, we show our patriotism and pride as a free nation by remembering those whose absence reminds us that freedom is not really free.
And we honor the living veterans with parades and other events and special treats like free meals at local and nationally franchised restaurants. Most of all, we say “thank you for your service” as sincerely as possible.
Veterans Day is very personal to me and I awoke with a smile knowing that my 100-year-old father-in-law would soon be enjoying a free breakfast at a classy restaurant near his home in Utah. A former B-17 bomber pilot in World War II, old Ray exemplifies the spirit of the “Greatest Generation”.
Invited to share his military service with middle school students later that day, he no doubt gave them his standard comment that the real American heroes in wartime are those who don’t come home but rest in honored glory in American military cemeteries around the world.
On Veterans Day and often at other times, I find myself grieving the loss of my best childhood friend, Ernie, who died defending the American embassy in Saigon, and my brother-in-law, Jerry, who died 44 years after his exposure to agent orange defoliant in Vietnam.
As a nation, we also owe a huge debt of gratitude to the millions of American men and women who have survived their military service and to those who are serving in today’s even more dangerous world.
I’m proud of my nearly 22 years of service, primarily part-time in the Kentucky Army National Guard. One reason is that the profile of a minuteman on Kentucky’s special license plate for National Guard members reminds us of who were America’s first soldiers.
(Contact Keith at keithkappes@gmail.com).
