Honor, remember veterans
To the editor,
November is the month we honor the brave veterans across our country. Many community organizations and governmental agencies work hard to sponsor numerous events such as individual school programs, Cape Coral Veterans Day Parade, the Pride and Patriotism event, YMCA 5K Race and many others across Lee County. All of these events are designed to both honor veterans and inspire our citizens with examples of virtue, honor and bravery. Bravery was and continues to be a common trait of all veterans. How do ordinary citizens become extraordinary heroes? It starts in the home, community, and our schools. The lessons that these events convey such as honor, virtue, sacrifice, and love of country are now heard on distant battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan. In the final scene of the novel by James Michener, “The Bridges at Toko Ri,” the commander philosophically states as pilots returned from long, hazardous, and sometimes thankless missions: “Where did we get such men?” Several generations later, that question remains the same. America’s values, then and now, remain steadfast and will continue to produce men and women willing to place one’s personal comfort aside for the good of many. God bless our veterans and God bless America.
Robert Chilmonik
Cape Coral