By Dan Williams
For most of us who have served Veterans Day is a time to remember our service and to reach out to others who have served. Regardless of rank, station or status, Veterans throughout our communities come together for events in the company of heroes. It began as Armistice Day, the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month as a tribute to those who died on the battlefields of Europe. The Great War, the war to end all wars, wiped out entire generations on all sides. The Treaty of Versailles, signed on June 28, 1919, officially ended WW1, but 11 November remained the symbolic date of peace. Today it is on Memorial Day that we exclusively remember the fallen and we recall the memories of those lost in our 250-year history, a history that has rarely known peace. So, in a sense, Veterans celebrate peace and service on Veterans Day. We made it home and the truth is we remember those who did not every day.
This year we should celebrate the peace and freedom each of us served and fought for. We should seek out Veterans in our community to bring to events in their honor. Regardless of their branch or length of service we all tear up and hearts swell when we hear children’s voices in our schools sing tribute to us. When we hear speeches of honor, valor, and service we stand a little taller. We remember the places we served, who we served with and sometimes our combat experiences. It restores relationships, keeps us grounded and it helps us to welcome new Veterans to our community. For me, it lets the steam out of the kettle on 30 years of memories and multiple combat tours.
This year we should all redouble our efforts to thank and recognize our Veterans. Our Veteran ranks include those long-standing community members who have contributed and served our community well after their time on active duty ended and those coming back home from the current war in Iran. Every day is a gift and now is the time to recognize them. Our Vietnam and Korea War Veterans are leaving us much sooner than any of us expected. We are now losing 400 Vietnam Veterans a day and by 2030 we will have fewer than 200,000 Korea war Veterans in the United States. We feel the pain of Veteran loss in our community as well. Teller County recently lost Bob Lowery and Keith McKim, both proud Vietnam Veterans and friends who will be memorialized in November. We owe them and all those who served a debt of gratitude for the freedoms we enjoy. In my mind our Veterans are the best of us and their sacrifice and service remind us all that we are all part of a whole and that each of us can make a positive difference for those around us and our communities. I was recently wearing a combat baseball cap on an errand like so many of us do and a stranger said to me, “thank you for my freedom” …I was humbled and honored and my faith restored. This year help us to honor our heroes with a kind word or random act of kindness – we will all be better for it.
Dan Williams is a retired US Army Active-duty Colonel and a multiple combat veteran and the district 1 Teller County Commissioner. He lives with his wife Suzan, also a retired US Army Colonel and nurse, on their ranch near Cripple Creek
This year’s county wide Veterans Day Dinner will be held at 5:30 at the Shining Mountain Golf Course on Nov 11. The dinner is free and will be hosted by the American Legion and VFW.
