A salute to our veterans
On Veterans Day, we honor the men and women who have served in the armed forces, protecting this country and its ideals of freedom and democracy.
I am particularly intrigued by the veterans who answered their country’s call in World War II. They are pictured on small banners displayed on streetlamp and utility poles (along with photos of vets from more recent conflicts such as Korea and Vietnam) in many small towns in Western Pennsylvania.
Obviously, I am most familiar with Uniontown’s banners. The names on them evoke memories of people who were civic and business leaders during my youth. Names like Lebder, D’Auria, Speshock, Cantalamessa, Detweiler, Petro, et al, were part of the fabric of the Uniontown community. They went off to war in Europe and the Pacific as teenagers and twenty-somethings and returned home to raise families and build local businesses. Indeed they were part of what Tom Brokaw called “the Greatest Generation.”
One has to wonder what WWII veterans would think of some of the current-day people – including a few opinion commentators and politicians – who seem attracted to fascist and autocratic ideas, as well as to groups promoting neo-Nazism and Holocaust denial. Do such people have so little regard for the sacrifices made by their fathers and grandfathers, who risked and sometimes gave their lives to make the world safe for democracy? What a dishonor that is for the legacy of their brave ancestors from three-quarters of a century ago.
To all veterans, here’s a salute to you.
Bernard Quarrick
Uniontown