WOODRIDGE VFW VETERANS DAY SERVICE

freedom is
not free

Veteran’s Day is November 11th. Veteran’s Day is unique and special day for America. While Memorial Day honors those who made the
ultimate sacrifice on the fields of battle, in the skies and at sea, Veteran’s
Day is different. On this day we set
aside our routine activities and pause to appreciate the men and women who
served this nation in uniform.

While every American has been exposed
to this holiday, there remains some confusion about just who it is we are
honoring. Clearly, we take this
opportunity to honor those veterans who fought in our nation’s wars. Combat Veterans are naturally the first
people we think of this day as we pay special homage to those who know the
horrors of combat. They have earned our
nation’s deepest admiration.

But a veteran is also that soldier,
sailor, airman, marine, and Coast Guardsman who served during peacetime, either
on active duty or in the reserve components.
Our Veterans represent those who were drafted and those who voluntarily
signed up. Some served their initial
tour and returned to civilian life while others made a career of being in
uniform.

Some veterans bear visible signs of
their service... A missing limb, a jagged scar, a certain look in the eye.
Others may carry the evidence inside them: a pin holding a bone together, a
piece of shrapnel in the leg - or perhaps another sort of inner steel: the
soul’s ally forged in the refinery of adversity.

Therefore, today we honor all past
and current veterans, and those who serve today. They do their job so well that we as a nation
feel safe and secure from a very dangerous world. In fact, we feel so protected that it’s easy
to forget about those who have stood guard throughout the years. We all lead very busy lives and it is natural
– because we’re all human – to lose our national memory or to overlook the
meaning of their service. That is why holidays
like this are so critically important.

So we are a grateful nation,
remembering veteran’s sacrifices and service both in war and peace, in both
far-off lands and right here on the American home front. Whether or not they got the hero’s welcome
they deserved, it’s not too late to show our appreciation now, today, and

everyday. So remember, each time you see
someone who has served our country, or is serving it now, just lean over and
say Thank You. That’s all most people need, and in most
cases it will mean more than any medals they could have been awarded or were
awarded.

Woodridge Memorial VFW Post 1578 will
hold a Veteran’s Day service on Tuesday, November 11th, beginning at 11:00
am, at Memorial Park, corner of Janes Avenue and Center Drive. Please honor a veteran by attending.

For more information contact Woodridge VFW at 910-1578 or
visit their web-site at www.woodridgevfw.org.