With fall now here, it is time to start thinking about a lot of holidays that are coming up. First there is Halloween, then Thanksgiving and of course Christmas.
Wait a minute, there is another holiday in there too, one that is not meant to be fun like the others, but a time for contemplation and reflection.
That is Veterans Day on Nov. 11.
No, this isn’t one the kids get out of school for or people have big parties about. It is one where we need to sit back and look at the people who have made it possible for us to have the life and the freedoms that we do.
People have often asked me why our paper spends so much ink printing photos and stories about veterans. I have done a lot of those stories and photo pages and some think I must be a veteran myself.
When they ask about that I just say “Hell, I can’t even hold a candle to those guys. I barely got through two years of ROTC at the University of Utah.”
But there is a reason I care. It is because I have great respect for them. Whether they fought in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War, or even Iraq doesn’t matter to me. They are all heros.
And it doesn’t matter whether they fought in a “good” war or not, I still admire and respect them. My opinion about wars have nothing to do with the soldiers, but with the politicians who make the decisions to send our military to far flung spots on the globe. The soldiers, marines, airmen and sailors do what they are told; it is the only way a country can have an effective fighting force. They are there to serve their commander and chief and the American public, not to make decisions about where to fight.
We owe these people a lot.
For the last three years we have run a veterans special near the time of Veterans Day highlighting with photos and some stories those that served our country from the time of World War I up to the present. People have brought in photos of relatives and even themselves to put in that publication. We thank all of you that have done that.
This year we are going to take a little different tack on that publication. In years past, for the most part, we have honored those that came back from the wars, and were able to live out their lives, building careers and families. But in the long mist of time we as a country have mostly forgotten those Carbon residents that gave their lives for the cause of freedom. Those mens names adorn the doughboy statue in the Peace Garden in downtown Price.
This year the Sun Advocate going to go all out to give those men their due; an entire special dedicated just to their times and lives.
We have already begun to research old newspaper archives for stories about them and have even picked up a few photos from high school yearbooks of the time. But not everyone on those lists had their name in the paper or in yearbooks. Many in the World War I and World War II era never even went to high school.
It is with that challenge that I am asking the community to respond so we can honor these men. I am asking you to dig into your memories and your personal archives and bring out the photos and stories about these individuals so they are not entirely forgotten.
On page 11A there is an ad asking about these fellas. Look at that ad and if you know a name on the list there and have information on where their family might be contacted please contact us at the phone number or email listed.
Don’t you think it’s about time we gave these men the forum they deserve for giving it all so we could be free?
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