Dear Editor:
I have always felt that for some reason God spared many of us Veterans years ago when there were so many instances that our lives really should have ended. I thought perhaps maybe his master plan was to let us live in order to preserve the future liberties of generations to come.
As the years have gone by, it became evident to me that his plan was not so much the sparing of our lives for that noble duty, but the charge of those men and women we honor every Memorial Day. Because of those brave souls and their heroic deeds and actions, we are all here today to live free in these “United States of America.”
Today we see those same heroic actions still taking the lives of our fighting men and women. The same acts of bravery that were displayed in past wars are still going on now. Unfortunately, our freedoms are not free. Although freedom is a God given right, for some reason there are those who want to take it away. That road to freedom has been paved with the lives of many young men and women. Hopefully some day we will all live in peace and freedom like our creator intended. Memorial Day has been set aside for us all, not just Veterans, but all of us fortunate enough to live in this Country, to honor and praise those who so gallantly fought for those freedoms.
On this Memorial Day, please make an effort to visit those sites built to honor these heroes and reflect on what our lives might be like today had those brave men and women not made that “Ultimate Sacrifice.”
Bobby Hancox, Co-Chairman
Hoboken, Vietnam Veterans Memorial