Last night I attended a program at Mardela Middle and High School for Veterans. This is the 6th year that Mardela has put this program on. For the first five years, Mrs. Annette Henry put on the program and then she retired. For this year, she came out of retirement to once again put on a very special program that all veterans and attendees enjoyed as it touched us all.
Special guests that attended, greeted veterans and their families and said some kind words were Mrs. Guthrerie from the Cambridge Veteran's Outpatient clinic, Delegate Eckardt, Senator Colburn, and James A Adkins, Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Maryland. All of these guests shared some special stories and their connections to veterans that have fought in all of the wars from World War I, through the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Mardela Middle High School Concert Choir led by Mr Jeffrey Baer led the audience with the National Anthem, and finished the program with "United We Stand" and "In Flanders Field". The presentation of the flag and the pledge of allegiance was wonderfully put on by the Junior ROTC. A wonderful assortment of "Musical Memories from WWII" was performed by the Mardela Middle High School Symphonic Band led by Mr Corey Boltz. My Boltz, playing trumpet and Mr. Baer, playing piano, then played their rendition of "God Bless America". Ending the program was Taylor Burns, senior Trumpet, playing "Taps".
Refreshments followed and I was able to speak to Senator Colburn and introduce him to my daughter Allison who he thanked for helping work the phones for the Andy Harris campaign.
The theme once again was Freedom is not Free which every American who ever served in the armed forces, and their families know first hand. When all the parades are over, when the marching bands stop playing, the veterans have to try and get back to a life that they will never be able to reclaim. The sights that are emblazoned in our eyes, the sounds that ring in our ears, the smells of death and suffering will always be their. Veterans live with memories that most people can't imagine. Usually by the time our veterans are 25, they have seen more, heard more, and smelled more death then anyone will ever go through their entire lives.
We live with those memories and we try our very hardest not to let these things affect the ones we love the most. We may get angry easier than most people, we may not be as friendly, and we may like to be by ourselves, but it is not because of anything that you have done. It is the price that we have paid to give you the freedoms that we all enjoy.
I thank Mardela Middle and High School for the wonderful program, I thank the special guests for the kind words and support, and I thank God that I was able to serve my country and do my small part to help our country remain strong and free and the example of what is good in our world. May God Bless us all!
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
1 comment:
If FREEDOM isn't free, then what is it? Let's try to think of a condition which describes, well, freedom . . . without actually using the word. This is hard to do! You know how people say you can't use a word to describe the word itself? My question is this, can you use the word to describe the negative of the word? Example: Water isn't watery. A Wealthy person doesn't have wealth. Miserable doesn't include misery.
Freedom is FREE. Otherwise, it wouldn't be freedom now would it?
What people fight for . . . is not freedom. I don't know what it is, but it isn't freedom.
Freedom really is free. period. Thank you.
Stop trying to trick us into supporting violence in the name of its absence. Freedom is the lack of violence. Freedom does not come about as a result of violence. We are not only a ridiculously violent Nation, but quite idiotic at the same time. We play word games with ourselves, to trick each other into believing something which is ridiculous.
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