Honoring those who served

Honoring those who served

Veterans Day observed Friday

ATimes Staff Commentary Veterans Day is punctuation mark on the American calendar. It a day when we pause, observing a silent moment for all those who have served in the military, living and dead. We remember those whose lives were cut short in defense of our nation. We remember to pray for and encourage those families burdened with the loss that they will always carry. We remember the veterans living, our friends, neighbors and coworkers.

Every American reaps the benefits of their service.

This Veterans Day is an opportunity to express our gratitude for service men and women that have performed a great duty for our country.

From the beginning our nation had to be defended to survive. Only at great cost did the concept of liberty and justice become a reality and only with great sacrifice would our freedoms persevere. Throughout the years our uniformed services, proud Marines, soldiers, sailors Airmen and Coastguardsmen have defended and preserved our way of life. Veterans Day is a time to commemorate and confirm the sacrifice of those who understood and cherished the values and high virtues upon which our nation was conceived.

Veteran day is a celebration honoring the principles of our founding patriots by looking at great patriots of past and our contemporary patriots, They are tied together through our nation’s history with a cord of courage. We owe them much.

This Veterans Day thousands of our best and brightest are deployed to all corners of the world. Pray for their safe return and stand ready to support their families while they are away.

Each page of America’s history is etched with the sacrifice of our armed forces, a legacy of their accomplishments planting democracy throughout the world. Since Veterans Day was first observed on the first anniversary of Armistice Day, the first anniversary of the end of World War I, veterans have served in W.W.II, Korea, Vietnam, Panama, Grenada, Lebanon, Southwest Asia, the Middle East and countless locations around the world and here at home.

Their service comes with personal consequences.

Post traumatic stress, brain injuries result in consequences of depression, family stress, alcoholism, drug abuse and homelessness too often persist when service is complete. A congressional study reported 8,000 suicides per year. A sad reality today is most every pastor has conducted a funeral a veteran overwhelmed with some aspect of PTSD.

This Veterans Day punctuate your remembrance not only by reaching up with momentary salute of the flag at 11 a.m. — the eleventh day of the 11th hour , but also by reaching out to tangibly honor, appreciate

and thank the veterans you know.

By John Rech