Greetings, Fellow Veterans! We're still here!
This morning I attended the Veterans Day observance at the small town of Boerne, Texas - about 40 miles northwest of San Antonio. There was a larger ceremony in San Antonio, but it was centered at the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery - not an inappropriate site but one better suited for Memorial Day. I wanted a different emphasis so I chose Boerne, about fifteen miles from my house.
It was overcast as I parked at the large Catholic church across the street from Veterans Plaza. The plaza is used for a wide variety of community gatherings from flea markets to arts and crafts sales, but today it was set aside for its original purpose - to honor veterans. At the center of the plaza is a flagpole and an adjacent tower made of Texas Hill Country field stones. The tower has four sides. The three sides marked for World War I, World War II, and Korea have the names of Kendall County residents who died in those conflicts. The fourth side is titled "Viet Nam" but thankfully it has no names listed. The ceremony front was east of the tower and flagpole, and there were a couple of rows of folding chairs for dignitaries. Behind them, about twenty men sat in wheelchairs. Behind those rows, maybe two hundred citizens stood or sat in lawn chairs. North of ceremony center, there was a traditional rifle squad from the local Veterans of Foreign Wars chapter. South of the tower, a fifty member choir from the local high school stood. Behind the tower, a slightly larger high school band sat behind their music stands. On the walkway between the choir and the band, a four person honor guard from the Air Force Junior ROTC awaited their cue.
At the symbolic "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" when, 90 years earlier, the "War to End All Wars" was brought finally to a halt, our honor guard started its march to the flagpole. As citizens covered their hearts with their hands and veterans and current military members saluted, Old Glory was raised to the top of the pole and, after a brief pause, lowered to half staff. The youthful choir lifted the flag in a different way with its harmonic rendering of our National Anthem. Then everybody there joined in the Pledge of Allegiance.
A few people spoke. And then our primary speaker came to the microphone. An Army warrant officer helicopter pilot in Viet Nam, he retired this year after 42 years of service. He spoke of the time when his father left his pregnant wife to begin his Army service in World War II which included battles in North Africa, Sicily, and Anzio. His father returned home to see his firstborn child, a daughter, who was 3 1/2 years old. While his father seldom talked of the war, he did take his children to Veterans Day parades. Our speaker recalled the first one he attended in 1953. He noted the respect with which the citizens held their service men and women, but he was most struck with the comradeship the veterans had for each other.
Fifteen years later, he would begin to understand that aspect even more when he entered the Marine Corps and then when he cross-trained into the Army as a helicopter pilot. He flew hundreds of combat hours in Vietnam and lost people close to him in the process. But he experienced the closeness of the "brotherhood of arms" - of the bonding of people who share the risks of combat together. Then he spoke of the low point of his service.
It was 1970. He was on a Flying Tiger charter out of Saigon and was the only officer on the plane so it fell to him to read an Army order to the returning soldiers as they approached the landing at Travis Air Force Base, California. The Army ordered them not to go into San Francisco that night. They were to go to their hotel near the airport where they would be flown out as soon as possible the next day. San Francisco citizens were beating up people in uniform and spitting on them, so the Army wanted to avoid confrontations.
The next day things changed. He got on his plane to Texas where he was surrounded by Texans who wanted to shake his hand and buy him a drink. While he left active duty in the Viet Nam drawdown, he remained in the reserve components where he cross-trained into intelligence and was recalled to active duty for tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Today, he thought back over his decades of service and of the many blessings that he has experienced through his service in the military and his comradeship with fellow veterans and their families.
He took his seat. The band played a medley of all of the military service songs. The rifle squad fired the traditional three volleys. The honor guard marched to the flagpole and raised Old Glory to the top again. The commemoration was over
Those of us in the crowd began to walk around shaking hands of fellow veterans and thanking the young people who had brought their talents to the event. Then we drifted off to our routines.
I like Veterans Day. I like being with other veterans. On Veterans Day, while I always remember those who died in the service of our country, I most remember all those who served and were blessed to live. I am thankful for the service of my father and my father-in-law who spent careers on active duty. I appreciate the service of my Uncle Roy who served in World War II and was recalled during Korea but whose primary work life was in financial services. I honor the service of My Uncle Ed who was a Seabee in the South Pacific in World War II, but who spent much of his post-war life building diesel engines. I am pleased that my niece is an Army combat medic and has been selected to go to Officer Candidate School upon her return from her current tour in Korea. I am awed by the young soldiers I see at Brooke Army Medical Center who have suffered great injury through their service to our country, but who are overwhelmingly positive in outlook. It is humbling to talk to an amputee who is hoping that his prosthetic devices will enable him to remain on active duty and to return to combat with his comrades. I am grateful to work daily with young Air Force officers and airmen who are serving our Nation today and who will be tomorrow's veterans. I am especially thankful to have known all of you veterans during my nearly 62 years of life.
In about 80 days, I will turn 62. Barring something totally unexpected, I will retire from my civil service job with the Air Force then. The Air Force has been at the core of my life since I took the oath of allegiance at the Air Force Academy in 1965. I think that is why this Veterans Day seems extra special to me. After this, it will never quite be the same.
May God bless you, our fellow veterans, our current service members, and may God continue to bless the United States of America.
Jerry Ball
San Antonio, TX
