Monday is Veterans Day, an official public holiday in our country to honor military veterans — that is, those who have served in the United States armed forces.
Unlike Memorial Day, which asks us to remember the people who have died while serving in the military, Veterans Day recognizes all servicemen and servicewomen.
Thousands of Tallahatchie County residents have served, through voluntary enlistment or the draft, during both wartime and peacetime, to help keep our nation free, to protect our interests and to further the causes of liberty and justice both at home and abroad.
We owe our military veterans a tremendous debt of gratitude that we can never hope to repay, but our country must at least fulfill the obligation we have to serve, support and take care of our veterans during their times of need. This means ensuring access to quality medical care, providing continued assistance with housing, job training, help with finding a job, and through other means befitting their sacrifices to us all.
There are other ways that we can show thankfulness, but in at least one we often come up short.
This past Tuesday, citizens had the opportunity, the privilege, to bear some personal responsibility for one of the bedrock freedoms that our brave men and women in uniform have helped to preserve: the right to vote, to choose those who will govern us, represent us, serve us. How did we respond? In Tallahatchie County, less than half of the 10,034 registered voters cared enough to cast a ballot in the general election.
At any rate, on Monday, if you know a veteran, tell him or her how much you appreciate them and their service. Kind words or even small gestures of gratitude and respect are sure to be well received, and they are most certainly deserved.
