There are discussions that can be had over whether patriotism is justifiable pride or indoctrination, and whether calling veterans "heroes" is appropriate or inappropriate.
I do not consider myself a "hero." I did my duties, and "obeyed the orders of the President and the officers appointed over me" as set forth in my Affirmation of Enlistment for seventeen years. My service did not end by an act of heroism, but by epilepsy.
Nations are held together by their shared experiences and traditions. When those traditions are found to be wanting, in this country we have the means to change them. (Unequal treatment of women, minorities, the LGBTQ community, and other groups come to mind.)
All Americans, and those who strive to become Americans: active duty, reservist, veteran, fallen, or civilians who would never choose to don the uniform of the Armed Forces, in their own way choose to "uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States."
The Constitution is more than an aging piece of parchment. The Constitution, and the ideals it embodies, is us. It is all of us. We stand or fall because we support each other: that piece of parchment is the symbol and the contract of our support.
More below the orange cloud below.
Enough pontificating.
Veterans Day in a small town is not like what you see in the city, and the way it is treated seems to be a vanishing piece of "Americana." That piece has not vanished here yet.
This morning I dressed, pinned my Gold Star Family lapel button to my shirt, and went out into the blistering cold and blowing snow to make the sixteen mile drive into Bridgeport for the annual Veterans Day luncheon and programme.
Bridgeport Public School draws in veterans and families from all over the Nebraska Panhandle, southeastern Wyoming, and northeastern Colorado for its event, even though Bridgeport has less than 1,500 people.
The school multi-purpose room was packed with veterans, reservists, active duty personnel home on leave, and their families, in the centre of the room at the lunch tables. The school's students from K-12 were on the bleachers. Students, teachers, and staff scurried about to serve us all lunch.
From Broadwater were our outgoing Village Board Chairman (a Vietnam veteran of the Army), a library board member (a Coast Guard veteran, and whose husband, an Army veteran passed away this summer, detailed in my diary here), and me.
After lunch, the National Ensign and State Flag were paraded to the front of the assembly, followed by two high school students singing the national anthem.
The director of the Nebraska Veterans Cemetery at Alliance gave a presentation on the conduct of military funerals. (He also spoke last year, when the cemetery was still being constructed.)
He noted that most veterans do not trumpet the details of their service in the Armed Forces when they return to civilian life. When he speaks to family members after a funeral, he frequently receives remarks from family members such as "I didn't know (name) was awarded (insert medal here), or served in (insert campaign or battle here)."
He then did something different than last year: he asked all the active duty, reservists, and veterans to stand and render a hand salute as he played Taps on the bugle for those of us who passed away over the last year and are no longer with us.
The Elementary Choir sang "God Bless America" and "You're a Grand Old Flag."
The "meat" of the presentation was the speech of recently retired John Erickson, Commander, US Navy. (CDR Erickson is from Bridgeport; last year he also spoke and was still in the Navy.)
He spoke of the differences of the Affirmation of Office and the Affirmation of Enlistment, and noted that upholding and defending the Constitution is not swearing an oath to a piece of parchment, but to the society that document represents. That oath or affirmation does not end when one takes off the uniform of the Armed Forces for the last time; that oath is a lifetime commitment to service.
As such, CDR Erickson continues his service, albeit in a different capacity; he serves with the county food bank.
The High School Women's Ensemble then performed "Mansions of the Lord" by Benjamin Harlin.
The Bridgeport High School Band then performed each of the service marches, with those associated with that service standing during their respective march, followed by a performance of "Flight of Valor," written by James Swearingen.
A sophomore then presented his essay on Veterans Day.
Several of the students then presented each of the veterans with handmade cards; mine was given me by the guns-and-ammo shop proprietor's seven-year-old granddaughter. It is decorated with a hand-drawn flag.
That card reads (in red, white, and blue ink):
"Thank you for your service. I would like to thank you for our freedom and saving our country. If you weren't there we would not be able to have the freedoms we have now. I will always remember what you did for our country."
When I next see her, I will thank her for allowing me to serve. I will also remind her that it is not veterans that allow us to have our freedoms or save our country, it is all of us together; what we all do for our country regardless of how we do it.
All of us are heroes: firefighters, police, physicians and nurses, civil rights activists, town council members, elementary students. All of us that participate in "supporting and defending the Constitution," not the document itself, but the ideals it embodies and the society that it represents are heroes, every single one.
The United States is not an XVIII Century parchment. Veterans Day was originally Armistice Day, a celebration of peace following the horrors of World War One. As a society, we can and should look forward to the day (whether or not it can be achieved) when Veterans Day is a celebration of peace again.