When I think of a veteran, I think of many words. Brave is the first to come to mind. There’s also strong, proud…the list could go on. Earlier this week, the day before Veterans Day and the day of (Nov. 11), schools, veterans organizations and others paid tribute to those who have served the country’s military.

I’ve used the words honorable and respectable recently, and those words truly describe veterans, too. We should honor them and we should respect them. Each and every one of our veterans did something that not everyone could do. How could you not respect what they did?

Several schools in Jackson County held programs. Cortland Elementary, Margaret R. Brown Elementary, Redding Elementary, Emerson Elementary and Crothersville Schools all held programs. Also, programs were held at the American Legion Post in Seymour and in front of the courthouse in Brownstown. These programs varied in length, but just the fact that people took time out of their day to honor veterans says a lot, I think.

I went to the Crothersville program on Monday, the day before Veterans Day. Crothersville FFA has organized the event for several years. There were two differences with this year’s program. First, it was moved from the cafetorium to the gymnasium, because this year, they invited the elementary school students to the program. They also were part of a special presentation at the end, which was another difference this year. They unfurled an oversize flag over the bleachers and high school Principal David Schill read the story about Old Glory.
The whole program was very moving for me, and I know a lot of other people there were moved as well.
From Erica Doyle’s essay about her grandfather, who is a veteran, to Leah Schill and Joey Needler reading a poem to the state FFA officers explaining and demonstrating the 13 steps to properly folding a flag, it was amazing how quiet the gym was and how attentive that many students could be. But there was more.
While the huge American flag was unfurled over the bleachers and Schill read the patriotic salute, there practically was silence in the gym. The way Schill read the salute was just as moving. I was very impressed with the students participating in and attending the program.
There were five veterans on hand. I was sitting next to one of them, Mike Fink, who is also the county veterans affairs officer. He told me, after hearing Doyle’s essay, how moving that was for him. He was very impressed.

Then, sitting behind me was Zack Nease, a veteran who is originally from Austin and who now lives in Crothersville. It was his first time attending the Crothersville program, and he said it won’t be his last. One reason he came this year is that three of his grandchildren are students at the school, and one of them helped unfurl the flag. I talked to him after the program about his service, which he said is difficult to talk about at times. That’s totally understandable, though. He said, while watching the program, he was moved to tears at times.

I also attended the Veterans Day program at the Legion Post in Seymour. Pastor Philip Bloch of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Seymour was the main speaker. His words were so thought-out, honest and sincere. I thought the way he presented his words was perfect. While looking at the veterans and their families in attendance, they were listening to every word Pastor Bloch was saying. All the words were true, how these men and women paid the ultimate sacrifice for all of us.

While I didn’t get the chance to attend any other programs, I was happy with what I got to go to. Some of the other reporters went to a couple of the other programs. By looking at the pictures and reading the stories, many people put a lot of hard work into each program in Jackson County. All of them should be proud of their work, and those who attended the programs should be acknowledged, too.

Another word describing veterans that I thought of while writing is unselfish. Don’t you think it takes a lot of a person basically volunteering themselves to fight for their country in a time of war? I know some people entering the military because it’s truly what they want to do or what they felt the call to do. Or maybe their family has a long line of military background, and they just want to carry on the tradition. There are also those, like Nease, who were drafted, and that’s another story. But whatever the circumstance, they were unselfish for putting their life on the line and helping provide things we are grateful to have today–like our freedom, our rights and our safety.
Be grateful for those things every day, and also, be grateful for veterans, too. If they hadn’t done what they did, where would we be today?

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