Every year Veterans looked forward to participating in flag raisings and patriotic programs at our local schools in honor of Veterans Day. School District 203 would host a small breakfast at district headquarters before the veterans went to a specific school. The veterans were given patriotic boutonnieres to wear.
Many of the schools had worked hard to put together programs of patriotic songs and recognized each veteran in the audience. Students lined hallways to shake the hands of veterans as they left the building.
Those programs held in School District 203 and others in School District 204 won’t be happening this year.
As has been tradition, there will be a brief program at Veterans Park on Gartner Avenue at 11AM November 11th to commemorate the signing of the peace treaty to end World War I.
The focus of the day every year is to thank the veterans for all the sacrifices they have made to gain and preserve peace. At the same time, there will always be a spot in our hearts where we remember the individuals who served and are no longer here to celebrate with us.
I was wondering if there were anything else we could do that day to let veterans know that we salute all that they have done to preserve peace. I wondered if veterans would notice if people wore red, white and blue on that day to show how thankful we are for their service.
That led me to do a little research on the significance of the colors of our flag. According to Flags of Valor, there wasn’t any significance to the colors chosen for our flag when the flag was first made. But in 1782 Charles Thomson, the secretary of the Continental Congress, gave meaning to the colors of our flag. Red stood for strength and valor; white stood for purity and innocence; and blue stood for vigilance, perseverance and justice.
I’d like to encourage everyone to wear Red, White and Blue on Veterans Day to salute the veterans and the values that they have defended.
