MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. -- “It’s up to us that every veteran feels that his or her service to this country is appreciated,” John “Jake” Comer, past national commander of the American Legion, told the hundreds gathered at Quantico National Cemetery. While there are countless ways to show appreciation, he added, the simplest is just to say thank you.
Comer, keynote speaker at the Potomac Region Veterans Council’s Veterans Day ceremony on Nov. 11, said veterans need the support of the country they fight for, noting that more service members are being lost to suicide than to enemy forces.
He recalled the hostility that awaited Vietnam War veterans when they returned from their service.
“We swore that would never happen again, and, thank God, it hasn’t,” he said, comparing that reception with the crowds that now greet returning service members with gratitude.
In May, Comer said, the country lost one of its greatest veterans with the death of Army Technical Sgt. Vernon McGarity, who received the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II. However, he said, “The valor and dedication that defined the warriors of previous generations continue today.”
After the bombing of the Boston Marathon in his home town this spring, Comer said, two veterans who were amputees visited the wounded in hospitals, many of whom lost limbs, and gave them hope for their futures.
But Comer said Veterans Day is to honor not just those who’ve fought in combat but all who have served in the military, united by their willingness to fight and die to defend the United States.
Thanking the ceremony’s attendees for doing their part to express their gratitude, he said, “When we hear, we forget. When we see, we remember. It’s when we do that we understand.”
“This cemetery is an ideal location to remember the service and sacrifice of our nation’s veterans,” said Col. David Maxwell, commander of Marine Corps Base Quantico, who gave the opening remarks. He noted that Quantico donated the land for the cemetery in 1977. “The base has a long history of honoring our veterans,” he said.
Maxwell said one group of veterans long overlooked were those who fought in the Korean War of 1950 to 1953, which later came to be called “the forgotten war,” and he said he was pleased that those veterans got to gather for a ceremony this year to mark the 60th anniversary of the war’s armistice at the Korean War Memorial.
While fewer people have direct connections to military veterans, he said, these are often neighbors and business owners in the community.
“Our veterans are truly a remarkable group of people,” Maxwell said.
Ron Bantom, chairman of the Potomac Region Veterans Council, said a veteran is “a member of the greatest fraternity the world has ever known.” The military way of life does not end upon separation from the service, he said. “In military life, there’s a fellowship that lasts long after the uniforms are hung in the back of the closet.”
Steven Fezler, the cemetery’s director, said none stand taller than veterans, who serve and sacrifice by their own choice.
“It is a day to appreciate that the courage of our veterans is the strength of our freedom,” Fezler said.
— Writer: mdicicco@quanticosentryonline.com