Veterans recount sacrifices, lessons

• By CHRISTINE MORGAN ARCENEAUX
• Livingston-Tangipahoa editor
• Published: Nov 5, 2009

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HAMMOND — “Nothing’s free,” said James D. Square Jr., a U.S. Air Force veteran of the Korean and Vietnam wars, when asked what young people should learn from veterans.

“Somebody had to sacrifice something for what they enjoy today,” Square said.

More than 60 veterans and their families gathered Tuesday at the Michael J. Kenney Recreation Center in Hammond for “A Day of Remembrance, Respect and Dedication” in observance of Veterans Day.

The Hammond Area Recreation Department paid tribute to the veterans with a program that included lunch and performances by the Hammond High School Reserve Officer Training Corps, the Hammond Recreation’s choral group, The Golden Tones, and the Hammond Recreation Line Dancers.

“You guys put the country and the people who live here above yourselves,” Hammond Area Recreation Director Joey Keener said in his opening remarks.

As Hammond Mayor Mayson Foster took his place in front of the veterans, he thanked them for their service and their mission “to pursue our ideas of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

Foster said that while he never served in the U.S. armed forces — he was denied admission to the various military branches four times for various health reasons — he is grateful for the men and women who sacrificed for the freedoms he and all Americans enjoy today.

“Without your being here today, Veterans Day would be just another day on the calendar,” Foster said.

“It (Veterans Day) is a day of remembrance, of respect and of dedication,” he said.

Foster went on to explain the origin of the day, noting that it was first celebrated in 1921 as Armistice Day to remember “those who had fallen in World War I.”

“Peace is a commitment that every generation must make,” Foster said.

Sal La Monte, a U.S. Army veteran of the Korean War who addressed those attending Tuesday’s event, said he still remembers being hugged by an orphan boy in Korea after he gave the boy some food.

“I wondered many times if that little boy survived,” La Monte said.