Veteran's Day

I have an uncle who died before I was born, when his plane crashed in the South Pacific during WWII. His brother was a captain of a coastal battery in Corregidor and was captured when the Japanese conquered the Phillipines. He was in the Bataan Death March and spent the rest of the war at the POW Prison Camp at Cabanatuan. I didn't understand what that meant when I met him or I'd have kissed his feet. He died at the end of the 70s. I wish I could go see him or send him a card and thank him for his service. He came home and became a college professor and an agricultural expert. I didn't see him after I was a boy, but he's a hero to me as is his brother.

To my Uncles Stewart, Warren, Frank, Fred, my brother-in-law Robert, my brothers Wayne and Paul and my nephew Stuart, and all who have fought for this country and served in the armed forces, this is my salute and tribute. That tradition of service and pride in defending our country is taking a beating in the media these days, but I wish I could have done it too. We have a number of young men in our area who are overseas. I pray for them and their success. Those who serve well and honorably deserve the best we can do for them.