Honoring those who served us

Close to 300 people celebrated America's heroes and veterans on the lawn of the Bloomington Courthouse in observance of Veteran's Day.\nThe ceremony, an annual event presented by American Legion Post 18, honored the men and women who serve or have served in the military. \nThis year's ceremony featured Kirk R. White, assistant fire support coordinator in Indianapolis and a major in the 38th infantry division, as this year's guest speaker. His speech emphasized the morals and values brought back by veterans during World War II.\n"Veteran's Day is a day where we celebrate both our past veterans and their accomplishments and a time for us to recognize the current service people who are being deployed in various parts of the world, including many soldiers from the reserve forces," White said. "We salute them for their service from the military perspective and their subsequent service for the work in their communities as leaders in various organizations."\nWreaths were laid on the lawn in the veterans' honor. Desert Storm veterans, Post 18 and the Prisoners-of-War Missing-in-Action were among the numerous groups to lay memorial wreaths.\nSecond Lieutenant Kevin Pauly of the Civil Air Patrol laid a wreath as a representative of the American Red Cross.\n"It was quite an honor to be picked to represent the Red Cross," he said. "I have done a lot of volunteer work with them, so I really enjoyed this opportunity. We had the privilege of wearing the uniform of the Civil Air Patrol and that's one of the neatest things to do to express our gratitude."\nJames B. May, a member of Post 18 and the Veterans of Foreign War Post 604, said he felt the ceremony went well and helped the community remember their past.\n"If it wasn't for the veterans, the community wouldn't be here, and I was glad to see people come to honor the veterans," May said. "In whole, I think it was a great day for the program."\nMay also said this year's program marks the 45th year the Legion has put on such a program in downtown Bloomington.\nWhite's keynote address talked about the ideas of military values that veterans enforce and practice in their lives. The book, The Greatest Generation written by NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw, helped form the basis of White's speech.\n"The book focused on the invasion of Omaha Beach," White said. "The soldiers that participated in that invasion at Normandy knew that in many cases the persons sitting to their left and to their right probably weren't going to make it through that invasion. Nevertheless, with those very difficult odds, the allied forces were successful on that day in achieving their mission."\nValues such as duty, honor, integrity and selfless service are all traits White said he believed characterized the generation that fought in World War II. In his book, Brokaw names that generation as the greatest generation in America's history because of those traits.\nIn 1926, the American government declared Nov. 11 as a day to honor the veterans of World War I, the first modern global conflict. Originally named "Armistice Day," the title was changed in 1954 to "Veteran's Day" to also honor all who served in World War II and the Korean War. To many, the observance of Veteran's Day on Nov. 11 "preserves the historical significance of the date and focuses attention on Veteran's Day as a day to honor America's veteran's for their patriotism, love of country and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good," according to the Veterans of Foreign Wars Web site.