SMITHSBURG – Mayor Donnie Souders hosted a moving Veterans Day remembrance Monday, Nov. 11, at Veteran’s Park. A crowd of veterans, friends and family estimated at 100 gathered for the 2 p.m. event.
The ceremony opened with a presentation of the colors, the national anthem played by the Smithsburg Middle School Band, a pledge of allegiance and an invocation.
Veteran’s Day was originally called Armistice Day in honor of those who returned from WW I. As the years went on and other wars were fought, the name was changed to Veterans Day to accommodate all those who served and sacrificed for our country.
Recently retired US Marine Corp Lt Col Mike Bowers was keynote speaker. His comments were in the form of a story, starting in Iraq while preparing for a mission. He described the utter chaos associated with loading Marines in full combat gear onto helicopters, with information bombarding both ears in his helmet on the status of the field ahead and logistics and intelligence for their assignment. In the midst of all this, he saw a friend – the very epitome of a Marine – and they chatted briefly before going their separate ways. He returned from that mission and eventually came home. She died that day en route to Ramadi.
He observed that every Memorial Day he thinks about her and her sacrifice, but that Memorial Day is for the fallen. Veterans Day is for those who made it home. They return with skills and discipline that form the sinews of our country’s abilities in business, in churches, in government and elsewhere. He took a moment to recognize veterans present representing WW II, Vietnam, Iraq / Afghanistan, the Military Order of the Purple Heart, the Marine Corps League and others for whom participation in our communities is essential.
“So why do we gather to honor these men and women?” he asked. “It’s because we veterans do what needs to be done over there, so we don’t have to do it here.” He offered example after example from throughout our history, noting that what veterans have done in the past will need to be done in the future.
He went on to call out each generation who fought for us, not only for their effort, but also for bringing back the lessons successive generations would need to be as effective as those who had gone before.
To the veterans gathered in the tent before him, he recalled how they, in their active duty roles, had become teammates who depended on each other to accomplish mission after mission. He urged all to actively bring their perspective as teammates back with them, to bring respect for all who serve beside and love our neighbors.
The remainder of the program consisted of laying a number of wreaths identified in the program with two additions: the 29th Division, Post 729 by David Yeoman; and the Korean War Veterans of Hagerstown by Ryan Twentey.
A solo bugler played taps. Following a benediction, the ceremony closed.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Small ceremonies like this are important and necessary. They remind us that what we take as a given in the conduct of our daily lives does not exist simply because we wish it. We are able to live and work as a free people in a constitutional republic because many generations of Americans have fought and, in some cases died, defending the way we are able to live our lives.
While there are other forms of government, ours has proven to be particularly successful at preserving the rights and liberties of all citizens for only the cost of temporarily delegating some of our rights and liberties to representatives operating in a well understood structure. It has also proven capable of responding to new challenges. The Constitution and our way of life remain worth fighting for.
