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Veterans, community celebrate military
  
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By ANNA SCHUMANN
While a bugler played “Taps” from the back of the room, veterans saluted and patriots held their hands to their hearts honoring the flag and country they love.
Not an eye in the room was dry following the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2427’s Veterans Day ceremony Nov. 11.
The day began at Wal-Mart with a ceremony featuring honored guests including U.S. Congressman-elect Pete Olson, who is to represent Texas’ 22nd district in Houston’s southern suburbs. Olson is a Navy veteran.
“If you see anyone wearing a uniform, say ‘thank you’,” he said. “They don’t hear it enough.”
Other guests included Montgomery County Judge Matt Masden, Tomball Mayor Gretchen Fagan, Mayor Pro-Tempore Mary Harvey and Mrs. Tomball Christine Reeves.
Post 2427 Trustee Don Price spoke to the crowd of more than 50 veterans, supporters and community members about what the flag means to him as a veteran of the Vietnam War.
“This flag is the common denominator in what is fast-approaching two million deaths,” he said. “From the helicopter, this flag is the last thing we saw before going into combat and the first thing we saw when we came home.”
People were given the opportunity to sign banners to send back to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan thanking them for their service.
The Texas Fallen Heroes Memorial, a mobile monument displaying the names and pictures of each Texan who has been killed in combat since Sept. 11, 2001, was on display at Wal-Mart and has been taken to each Texas city who has lost someone in battle.
Right now the monument displays 431 pictures, with 13 more to add since mid-September.
A second ceremony at the VFW Hall, similar to the first, hosted patients from the V.A. hospital and guests including State Representative-elect Allen Fletcher. Fletcher’s son is a military police officer in Iraq.
Post Commander Bill Shaffer said regardless of politics, Veterans Day is a day of celebration.
“We must all pull together to support our new Commander-in-Chief,” he said. “Like him or not, he’s our president. It’s so easy to blame the president for things, but would you want that job? I wouldn’t.”
Not an eye in the room was dry following the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2427’s Veterans Day ceremony Nov. 11.
The day began at Wal-Mart with a ceremony featuring honored guests including U.S. Congressman-elect Pete Olson, who is to represent Texas’ 22nd district in Houston’s southern suburbs. Olson is a Navy veteran.
“If you see anyone wearing a uniform, say ‘thank you’,” he said. “They don’t hear it enough.”
Other guests included Montgomery County Judge Matt Masden, Tomball Mayor Gretchen Fagan, Mayor Pro-Tempore Mary Harvey and Mrs. Tomball Christine Reeves.
Post 2427 Trustee Don Price spoke to the crowd of more than 50 veterans, supporters and community members about what the flag means to him as a veteran of the Vietnam War.
“This flag is the common denominator in what is fast-approaching two million deaths,” he said. “From the helicopter, this flag is the last thing we saw before going into combat and the first thing we saw when we came home.”
People were given the opportunity to sign banners to send back to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan thanking them for their service.
The Texas Fallen Heroes Memorial, a mobile monument displaying the names and pictures of each Texan who has been killed in combat since Sept. 11, 2001, was on display at Wal-Mart and has been taken to each Texas city who has lost someone in battle.
Right now the monument displays 431 pictures, with 13 more to add since mid-September.
A second ceremony at the VFW Hall, similar to the first, hosted patients from the V.A. hospital and guests including State Representative-elect Allen Fletcher. Fletcher’s son is a military police officer in Iraq.
Post Commander Bill Shaffer said regardless of politics, Veterans Day is a day of celebration.
“We must all pull together to support our new Commander-in-Chief,” he said. “Like him or not, he’s our president. It’s so easy to blame the president for things, but would you want that job? I wouldn’t.”
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