Veterans Corner: Veterans Day

Community Contributed

By Jesse Church

Aloha all my veterans, and residents of Molokai, old Jesse here with all the veterans news and upcoming events. Today is Wednesday, Nov. 11, which is Veterans Day, and to all my fellow veterans, I wish to commend you for your courage, your honor, and most of all for your unselfish sacrifices in times of peace as well as war. Please accept my sincere thank you, as a fellow veteran who has the utmost respect for your love of our country and your eagerness to server here, you all are truly American heroes in my eyes.

It is my hope that all of Molokai, the state of Hawaii, and our country will take time on this Veterans Day to tell our veterans thank you, we appreciate your service to the USA and its people. I am still one veteran who is angry at the U.S. Congress of 1968 who forgot the importance of Nov. 11, and enacted legislation to make Monday in October Veterans Day, to have a three day weekend. This action started a seven-year battle with our lawmakers that united all veterans to have Veterans Day restored to Nov. 11. The veterans, as you know, finally won this battle when Congress relented and passed a bill returning Veterans Day to Nov. 11 beginning in 1978. So on Veterans Day Nov. 11, old Jesse is asking all the people of Molokai look out for somebody you know is a veteran, or is wearing a shirt that identifies him or her as a veteran, and make their day by thanking them for their service. You will be amazed how good you will feel about yourself, and you will have also made that veteran’s day.

I would like to tell you something about most veterans I know, their fathers were in military service and most of them saw combat, whether it be World War II, Korean War, or Vietnam, and the rest were involved in the Cold War of the 1950s. The reason for this is the draft system, at that time all American men between the ages of 18 to 45 had to fulfill a military commitment. Today’s military personnel have a choice to join the military, and I commend the men and women of today who volunteer to serve to their country, I believe it’s the right to do. When I was a young man we had a very simple saying, love it, or leave it! To my fellow veterans on our day, I say Semper Fi, and thanks for having my back, and remember all gave some, some gave all.

Please let us all keep supporting our military men and women, whether they are stationed at home or abroad, and the men and women in harm’s way we pray for a speedy and safe return home. If you have information or news please call old Jesse at 553-3323. To all the people of Molokai old Jesse loves every man, woman and child, you are my family. Have a wonderful week. Aloha and mahalo.