Veterans honored at Veterans Day Tribute at Shell Factory
The Salvation Army of Lee, Hendry and Glades counties, along with the Shell Factory and local resident Gen. James Dozier, honored veterans at the First Annual Veterans Day Tribute.
Held at The Shell Factory in North Fort Myers, the ceremony featured a special guest speaker, Gen. James Dozier. Dozier is one of Southwest Florida’s most recognizable veterans.
For those not familiar with his bravery, Dozier is a retired U.S. Army general officer who was kidnapped by a Marxist terrorist group in December 1981. He was rescued after 42 days of captivity.
Dozier was accompanied to the ceremony by his wife, Sharlene. They met with many young and old patriots.
“I was born in Arcadia, and after 35 years of working for the military, I settled in Fort Myers,” he said.
Dozier also has a house in North Fort Myers.
“I think it means a lot to all of us,” he said of the Veterans Day celebration. “It is one of our nation’s most important holidays. There are others, of course, but this honors the umbrella of security for our country.”
Dozier noted that he was a member of The Rotary Club of North Fort Myers before he moved to Fort Myers and joined their club.
“I’ve been working with the Salvation Army projects about 25 years, mainly in the Red Kettle program,” he said. “The Salvation Army and the military have a long history that we need to continue.”
Of the current VA organizations, Dozier said, “We have unique capabilities of supporting a program together. That’s the key – helping the needy.”
Salvation Army Maj. Tom Louden spoke about Veteran’s Day ceremony.
“The event was the least we could do to honor our veterans,” he said. “Every day we enjoy the gifts of freedom and liberty from our veterans. They have become our stewards of liberty and freedom.”
Attendees included Krystal Saldana, a student at Bayshore Elementary School.
“We collected 1,888 cans of food at our school (for the Salvation Army campaign),” she said.
Veterans Tom Cronin Sr. and Richard Dunmire, of the Shell Factory, helped spearhead the event.
Lee County Commissioner Tammy Hall was also one of the guest speakers.
The Salvation Army will kick off its annual kettle event next week.