DAPHNE – Eastern Shore residents and officials gathered last week to recognize local veterans and all those who have served in the armed forces.
Veterans Day is Nov. 11, but events were held throughout the week to honor veterans. Commemorations in Fairhope included a parade Nov. 6 and sunset prayer service on Nov. 11.
In Daphne, the city and Daphne High School held a celebration Wednesday, Nov. 10, that included music and speakers.
The event opened with veterans entering the Daphne Civic Center under arched sabers held by Daphne High JROTC cadets.
“Veterans Day is a celebration to honor all of America’s veterans for their patriotism, love of country and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good,” Mayor Robin LeJeune said. “It is also a day for reflection and remembrance. Whether you wear the uniform today or wore it decades ago, you, our veterans, represent a fundamental truth. It’s not the powerful weapons that make our military the greatest in the world. The true strength of all our armed forces is seen in the men and women who have worn and now wear the uniform of our nation’s military.”
Roland Yeager, who served as a captain in the U.S. Marine Corps, said the sacrifices of earlier veterans led him to want to serve his country. He said that when he was a student, he wasmoved by the names carved on Vietnam War Memorial during a visit to Washington, D.C.
“I told myself at that moment that one day I would serve this country like those men and women did,” he said.
After serving in the Middle East, he had the opportunity to build the War on Terrorism memorial at Battleship Park. The memorial lists the names of all those from Alabama who died in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001.
He said he was honored to have a part in recognizing the sacrifices of his fellow service members.
“Veterans Day is about understanding what those who came before us have sacrificed,” Yeager said. “It’s about learning the history of this country. It’s about the names on those monuments. Those who made the ultimate sacrifice. It’s about POWs and the missing in action who never came home to their families. Those are the veterans we are recognizing today.”
Daphne High Principal Fletcher Comer said the holiday is a time for the country to come together and recognize the service of veterans.
“Tomorrow we will officially recognize Veterans Day and throughout this week, however, throughout this whole week, in homes and parks, in schools and classrooms, in cities and towns, on avenues and in the streets, citizens will gather across these United States of America -- one nation, indivisible and they will gather to pause and reflect on the service of our nation’s veterans,” Comer said.
“To the veterans assembled here and to all veterans who have answered the call, know this; we are humbled by your commitment to country, and we stand before you today with grateful hearts. Thank you for loving this American family. Your service is an outward and visible sign of an inward, spiritual and patriotic nature,” he added.
