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Veteran’s Day Speech

November 11^th in the year of our Lord 2007 

[delivered November 12^that Bryan Station High School, Lexington, KY]

Jeff Smith, Veteran

Sometimes we don’t give young people enough credit. The USAF ROTC Cadets at Bryan Station High School and their instructor, Colonel Greg Coker, took it upon themselves to organize and lead a flag raising and Veteran’s Day Observance at the school soccer / football field where an empty flagpole sent the wrong message to patriotic Americans who entered that stadium supporting the sporting events. 

{Intro: This flag raising ceremony came about because I noticed an empty flagpole at the soccer field at Bryan Station High School while attending a soccer game in which my daughter was playing. I could not understand how a taxpayer funded high school would not have the American Flag flying, especially given that we are at war. So, I contacted the Fayette County Public Schools Superintendent Stu Silberman, who put me in touch with Dr. Peoples, Principal of BSHS, who delegated to Social Studies Chair Diane Leindecker and USAF ROTC Colonel Greg Coker the responsibility of organizing this event. Since the school is required, through recently passed legislation, to have a Veterans Day observance every Veteran’s Day, we combined the flag raising with the Veteran’s Day Observance. Art Dunahue, Vice Commander of VFW Post 680 and Gulf War / Iraqi Freedom Veteran, was instrumental in helping to organize the meetings to make this all happen. I contacted Senator Jim Bunning’s office and a flag that flew over the capitol in Washington, DC was sent to the school along with a certificate of authenticity. Although alerted to the event, no media showed up. They most likely already had their 15 second sound bite for the Veteran’s Day holiday! The USAF ROTC Students of BSHS were a great bunch of young people to work with and they basically pulled together the entire event themselves. Salute! After the Pledge of Allegiance, the National Anthem, a talk about flag, pledge, and national anthem etiquette, and my speech,  they ended the event with my favorite song, “Proud to be an American” performed by the BSHS Chorus. Thanks also to the BSHS Band for the patriotic music. }

Hello students, faculty, administrators and workers.  Thank you for having us here today, on your beautiful new campus, to celebrate America and her Veterans.   I hope you all thanked a Veteran yesterday on Veteran’s Day. I know I sure did; several of them.

We are here today to accomplish two missions.  The first and foremost mission is to get Old Glory flying on that empty flagpole over there.  The second mission, observing Veteran’s Day, is impossible to complete without the presence of that red white and blue - star spangled banner that so many fought, died, or have been wounded to protect.

What’s that you say? Veterans served to protect the flag?   Well, in a sense yes, but in reality, we Veterans served to protect what that flag represents.  That’s why it is so important to respect and protect Old Glory.  She represents all that we hold dear and she deserves our salute.

What does Old Glory represent?

On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress passed the first Flag Act, which said that our flag would be made up of thirteen alternating red and white stripes and thirteen white stars on a blue field, representing the thirteen original colonies. Stars were added to the flag as new states joined the union, and as you know, the flag now contains 50 stars.

Why is the flag red, white, and blue? While the flag's colors did not have a specific meaning at the time, the colors were significant for the Great Seal of 1782.

White: Signifies purity and innocence – Think of the bride in her white dress.

Red: Signifies valor and bravery – Think of the blood shed for our Liberty.

Blue: Signifies vigilance, perseverance, and justice – Think of the blue uniforms of the Continental Army, what uniforms they had, persevering against the tyranny of Great Britain’s monarchial rule and defeating the redcoats.

Why stars and stripes?

Well, stars are considered a symbol of the heavens and the divine goal to which man has aspired from time immemorial.   The stripes are symbolic of rays of light. The light of Liberty destroys the darkness of oppression.

But, first and foremost, the American Flag is a symbol of freedom, and the entire world recognizes that fact. Borrowing from Abe Lincoln, we are “a nation conceived in Liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal”.   Some of you have most likely memorized that speech and recognize that phrase. Those words spoken by our 16^th President describe why tyrants and totalitarians despise our flag so much.

You see, when people get a taste of the Liberty that this great Constitutional Republic offers, they want it.  Who wouldn’t?  Man was designed by the Creator to live in Liberty after all, not bondage.  So, our flag threatens the tyrant’s power over the masses held in bondage.  Let her hail proudly! It is indeed a blessing to be a part of the United States of America, Western Civilization’s pinnacle of Liberty, the first civilization in the history of man to end the institution of bondage.

In 2006, the Department of Veteran’s Affairs told us that there were over 23.7 Million living American Veterans who served to protect what that flag represents. That’s a lot of hands to shake on Veteran’s Day and a lot of thank-yous to say. Unfortunately, we can’t thank the 92,000 still missing and unaccounted for since WWI, nor can we thank the 1.2 Million who have made the ultimate sacrifice from WWI forward. But Veteran’s Day is to thank those that we can thank.

Some of you might know that Veteran’s Day was originally called “Armistice Day” and was begun after WWI ended.  “Armistice” is defined in Webster’s 1828 dictionary as… “A cessation of arms, for a short time, by convention; a truce; a temporary suspension of hostilities by agreement of the parties”.  So, by its true definition, that sure doesn’t sound like WWI was the “War to End All Wars” as they called it, now does it!  Well, it surely wasn’t.  There will always be those who desire to gain power by stealing the Liberty of others. That is why we must always stand firm to protect Liberty.

The Armistice was signed in the Forest of Compiegne by the Allies and the defeated Huns of Germany, officially ending World War I on the 11^th hour of the 11^th day of the 11^th month in 1918.  Though celebrated annually, it did not officially become Armistice Day until 1938, through congressional legislation.  I will remind you that by 1938, Germany once more, and Japan were well on their way to bringing the entire world to arms yet again in WWII.

After World War II, there were many new Veterans who had little association with World War I, so the word Armistice became less significant. Leaders of Veterans' groups decided to try to correct this and make November 11th a time to honor those who had fought in all of America’s wars, not just in World War I.   One community, led by one man, started the ball rolling. Never believe, students, that you aren’t significant as an individual.   With faith, hard work, and determination you can do anything.

Emporia, Kansas, on November 11th, 1953, had, instead of an Armistice Day program, a Veterans' Day observance to honor all Veterans.  A citizen of Emporia, Ed Rees, was so awed that he introduced a bill in the Kansas state legislature to change the name to Veteran's Day.  After this bill was signed, Mr. Rees wrote to all state governors asking their approval and cooperation in observing the changed holiday.   The name was officially changed to Veteran's Day by Act of Congress on May 24th, 1954.  By this time, we now had many new Veterans of the Korean War, the first UN War, which I will remind you, is still in stalemate.   Americans are serving yet today in Korea, as a barrier to the aggression of atheist communist North Korea toward the free people in South Korea.

Kentucky proudly has a large population of Veterans, over 355,000.   Our people do not shy away from serving our country.   Those who understand the value of Liberty will step up to the plate when that Liberty is threatened, and we will protect others who are weaker.  America is indeed that bright shining city on a hill.

My friend, Kentuckian Joe Milliner, from Shepherdsville, KY, was a B-24 Pilot in WWII.   He is a recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross, America’s oldest Military Aviation award.  The DFC signifies heroism, or achievement for individuals involved in military aviation.   Maybe one of you Air Force ROTC students will have that award pinned on your chest some day.

Joe Milliner was shot down several times.   He was captured by the Italians once, only to escape and return to flying missions again.   The last time he was shot down, the Germans captured him and informed him that they would not lose him like the Italians did, and they didn’t.

Near the end of the war, Joe and his fellow POWs were told by their prison camp guards that if the Russians freed the camp, not to go with them because “they will keep you”, and history shows the Russians did keep many Americans and other allied prisoners after the war ended for gulag slave labor and other evil purposes, but that is for another discussion.   This warning was to be sort of an omen for what was to happen in Joe and his wife Mary’s lives many years later.

The Milliners had two sons, living in Louisville at the time.   William P. “Billy” Milliner volunteered for service in Vietnam and was a helicopter pilot with the 1^st Armored Cavalry, or 1^st Cav as we call them.   He was a co-pilot on a mission with Johnny Hummel when they were shot down in Laos on May 6^th, 1971.   Johnny Hummel’s remains have been identified but no other body was found at the crash site.   Billy Milliner, though seen in captivity by other POWs, has never been found.  That is the same story with so many other POWs held back by the communists.  The Milliners, to this day, over 36 years later, still wonder about Billy’s fate.   There is no closure for this Veteran family.

When I look up to a flagpole and see Old Glory flying, I think of the Milliners and so many others who paid so dearly for our freedoms.   I see the faces of those who never returned, as well as the faces of their families.   I see a lot of sacrifice, by men much better than me, who bequeathed to me, and you, a Liberty I will proudly protect and preserve until I join these fellow freedom fighters in Glory one day myself.

How can we, as free Americans, enjoying the freedoms that were bequeathed to us merely by being born Americans, NOT respect that flag and the Veterans who served to protect it?   Surely that would be an abomination of all that is good, all that we hold dear and enjoy as free Americans.

So, in summary, the Armistice that was signed on the 11^th hour, of the 11^th day, of the 11^th month, in 1918, is why November 11^th is, and will always remain, what we now call Veterans Day.   It is now a day to give thanks to ALL Veterans, those who served in combat and those who served in peace time as well. We reserve Memorial Day, May 30^th, as the day singled out for a tribute to those who paid the ULTIMATE sacrifice.

I am sure many of you have Veterans in your family, or friends who are Veterans, or Veterans in your churches, or even people your family does business with who are Veterans.   Remember to thank them each and every November 11^th for the freedoms they served to protect so that we ALL can live Free in this greatest of nations ever to be formed on earth.  We are all indebted to The Veterans for our lives graced with liberty, and our freedom to pursue happiness.   Nowhere else in the world do people have the LIBERTY that we enjoy.

There’s a lot who have served, so we can sleep in peace at night when we lay down our heads. I would like to end this talk with a poem…

The Soldier

by Father D.E. O'Brien

Its the soldier, not the reporter,
who has given us freedom of the press.

Its the soldier, not the poet,
who has given us freedom of speech.

Its the soldier, not the campus organizer,
who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.

Its the soldier, not the lawyer,
who has given us the right to a fair trial.

Its the soldier who salutes the flag,
serves under the flag,
and whose coffin is draped by the flag,
who gives protesters the right to burn the flag.                      

Thank you.

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