Veterans Day

CWO Ray Fairman (USMC) stands before a Veterans' Appreciation Day ceremony in Pittard Park in Winterville on Saturday, November 8, 2008.

This past Saturday, there was a local Veterans Day event, to celebrate and to tell the stories of the men who took up arms and defended us from the Nazis. Both my grandfathers were part of this "greatest generation" and its generally cool to hear the stories of people who were actually there (like a PFC who was with Gen. George Patton and overheard some of what he said to the Germans while at a "camp").

What annoys me is the community not showing up for these. There are fewer and fewer men who can tell the tales of coming under fire and what they did to help liberate people (and those people actually wanted to be liberated!) and how the country came together, united against men who seemed to want to rule the world.




Medals and ribbons hang on the chest of CWO Ray Fairman during a Veterans' Appreciation Day ceremony in Pittard Park in Winterville on Saturday, November 8, 2008.


The greatest resource our country has to offer is the lives of its citizens. Those men should only be sacrificed when the cause is beyond reproach. To question the cause is not unpatriotic; rather it is a service to all those who have given their lives in the defense of our country. It seems that the causes for risking good men's lives seem thinner and thinner as days go by.




CWO Ray Fairman (USMC) talks during a Veterans' Appreciation Day ceremony in Pittard Park in Winterville on Saturday, November 8, 2008.

Take a quiet moment and remember that all this, everything we have in our lives, would not be this way if it weren't for the courageous few who give their lives.