Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Veterans Day

There are 13,000 veterans in Santa Fe County. Although the official Veterans Day is November 11, the City is hosting a Parade to honor all veterans on November 9 at 10:00 a.m., going from Murales Road to the Veterans Memorial Monument Bataan Building on West De Vargas St. between Galisteo and Don Gaspar . Mayor Coss invites all to attend. Click here for a Parade Map, and here for Mayor Coss's letter in PDF format.

Although many people stop for a minute on November 11 at 11:00 a.m. in respect, I suggest that you take more than a minute to talk to a veteran. I always call my two brothers to talk to “my favorite veterans” on Veterans Day. They still surprise me with bits and pieces of their military careers that they now feel more comfortable to share.

Flying into London one year, the pilot came on the intercom to explain that we were not to be surprised if in the terminal we saw people standing silently as we went to passport control. It was November 11th and we were landing at just about 11:00 a.m. There in the terminal were hundreds of people standing still, some with hands over their hearts until just past 11:00 a.m. In just about every lapel was a red paper poppy in honor of all veterans, but particularly WWI veterans. All over the City poppies were being sold for a donation to veterans services. I bought two in honor of my brothers and wore them proudly. I think we should revive the tradition in Santa Fe as it serves as a visual remembrance and honors all veterans.

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