America’s military veterans will not be forgotten – from those who shivered at Valley Forge and huddled in muddy trenches in World War I, to those who swept through the jungles in Vietnam and patrolled the mountains in Afghanistan.
Ret. Lt. Col. United States Air Force Yvonne Harris-Johnson made that point clear in her remarks to veterans and non-veterans alike at Lawrence Township’s Veterans Day observance at the Lawrence Township Municipal Building on Nov. 11.
The annual observance is presented by the Lawrence Township Patriotic Committee, American Legion Post 414 and the 112th Field Artillery Association.
Johnson, who was the keynote speaker at the ceremony, launched into the history of Veterans Day. It was held on the first anniversary of the end of World War I on Nov. 11, 1919.
Congress passed a resolution in 1926 authorizing an annual observance, and Nov. 11 became a national holiday a few years later in 1938. The name was changed from Armistice Day to Veterans Day by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to honor all veterans.
“Our history brings an opportunity to celebrate all veterans from all branches – active duty, the reserves and the National Guard,” Johnson said. “You and I are here to say they will not be forgotten. We will remember their sacrifices – duty, honor, country.”
Soldiers don’t go to war because they love to fight, she said. They are just ordinary people who responded in an extraordinary way in extraordinary times. Since Lexington and Concord, they have answered the call to duty, she said.
Soldiers have died on the battlefield to defend Americans’ freedom and their way of life, Johnson said. It is impossible to ever fill the hole left by a soldier’s death, she said.
“That’s why we honor the ones who made the ultimate sacrifice. We must demand that America never forgets,” she said.
“It is my hope that one day, we will put our weapons down and bring our brothers and sisters home,” Johnson said.
In his remarks, Mayor Christopher Bobbitt reminded the attendees of the United States of America’s motto – “e pluribus unum,” or “out of many, one.”
It is the one thing that makes the United States so good because in the end, “we are striving for the common good,” Bobbitt said.
Bobbitt thanked the veterans for their military service, for coming to Lawrence Township and for their involvement in the township.
“Thank you for everything you do, and for what you continue to give to our township,” Bobbitt said.
Wrapping up the observance, Johnson and Commander Charles Brothers of American Legion Post 414 placed a wreath at the memorial to the Mercer County residents who served in World War l.
