Area residents gathered at the Shawano County Courthouse on Monday morning to pay tribute to local veterans, both living and deceased.
Local veterans organizations spoke about the importance of the men and women called to serve in America’s military branches, as area children stood behind a banner that expressed support for those who wore a uniform in the armed forces.
U.S. Army Reserves Chief Warrant Officer 4 Emma Abel, the keynote speaker for the ceremony, pointed out that freedom cannot be celebrated without recognizing the people who fight to preserve it.
“Across our nation, many Americans will pause today to remember the men and women in the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Marines and the Coast Guard,” Abel said. “They have made our military the most respected in the world. Each has served our country with courage, with pride, selflessness and dedication to duty.”
All veterans have sacrificed something, Abel said, the maximum being their lives and the minimum, putting their lives on hold. Many of them did not desire to leave home to fight on “distant battlefields,” she added, but they were called to be a part of something bigger than themselves.
“We stagger at the debt that we owe to American veterans who chose to set aside their personal ambitions to ensure the well-being of our great nation,” Abel said. “They were ordinary people who responded in extraordinary ways.”
The call to duty in America dates back to the Revolutionary War, Abel said, and in more than two centuries, there have always been people willing to step forward to fight to keep freedom alive.
“Even as we lose troops, more Americans step forward and say, ‘I am ready to serve,’ to follow the footsteps of generations of fine Americans, whether it is a grandmother, a grandfather, a father, an aunt, an uncle,” Abel said. “These sons, these daughters, these brothers, these sisters, nieces and nephews have risen to the nation’s call because they want to protect our country, which has given them so much.”
The United States has taken a moment on Nov. 11 every year since 1918 to remember veterans and what they have done. In 1954, the day was changed from Armistice Day, recognizing the end of World War I, to Veterans Day, which celebrates all veterans, no matter the war or even if they never fought in a war, Abel said.
Although the military branches are primarily male, there are many women who answer the call of duty, said Dennis Bohm, of the Shawano AmVets, and it is important to recognize their sacrifices, as well. Besides the ones who don the same uniform as their male counterparts, there are the women who stayed behind and filled the country’s work force during many wars, he noted.
“They have been forgotten, the ladies of World War I, World War II, Korea and the young women that join today,” Bohm said. “We salute them for standing beside our men and performing their duty.”
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