PHOTOS BY DAVE BENJAMIN Veterans who have served in the United States armed forces were honored during a program at the Jackson Senior Center on Nov. 10. The guest speaker was Senior Instructor Maj. Michael Macagnone (below), representing the Jackson Memorial High School and Jackson Liberty High School Air Force Junior ROTC. Some of the community’s older adults turned out at the Jackson Senior Center on Nov. 10 to pay tribute to veterans of the armed forces who have served the United States.
Nov. 11 was Veterans Day, a holiday that honors all individuals who have worn the uniform of a United States military branch.
Master of ceremonies Joe D’Angelo, a veteran himself, said, “I would like to thanks all the veterans who are living who have served our country, especially these men who are here today. Remember, if it weren’t for them, then we wouldn’t have had the privilege of voting last week. They are the ones who protected our country and preserved our freedom.”
The audience for the special event included about 50 veterans and more than 170 seniors.
During the invocation, Kenneth Wickham said it would be nice if the nation did not have veterans, but he noted there are people who want to take Americans’ freedom away.
“It’s sad that we as human beings can’t realize other people want to live their way of life and we want to live ours,” Wickham said. “Freedom is not free. We pay dearly with the lives and blood of our sons, fathers, grandfathers, daughters and those who believe in the freedom we have on this earth.”
The women of the Ladies Auxiliary of the Veterans of Foreign Wars presented the colors.
Guest speaker Senior Instructor Maj. Michael Macagnone, representing the Jackson Memorial High School and Jackson Liberty High School Air Force NJ-Wing 782 Junior ROTC, said, “This is one of the nation’s most important holidays. It was on this day at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in the year 1918 that the guns of war [World War I] fell silent. From that point on, this date was known as Armistice Day.”
In 1954 the name of Armistice Day was changed to Veterans Day.
“Veterans Day is a day of reflection, and as Americans we should reflect on the true meaning of the day,” he said.
Pointing out that the holiday is sometimes known for sales events, Macagnone said, “How can you commercialize such an important holiday? I think we’ve lost what the meaning of this day [really] is.”
He said Veterans Day is a day to reflect and thank those Americans who were willing to lay down their lives for the American way. The line of service stretches from Valley Forge to Vietnam, from Korea to Kuwait, and from Iraq to Afghanistan.
“There is no greater honor than to wear the uniform of the armed forces,” Macagnone said. “I am truly proud to stand before you today in my uniform and what it represents.”
He listed the names of 14 former students who completed the Air Force ROTC program at Jackson Memorial and at Jackson Liberty and are now serving or have served honorably in the military.
“How do you thank someone who puts their life on the line for the rest of us?” he asked the audience.
Macagnone responded to his own question, saying, “Just by being good Americans, standing proudly for the Pledge of Allegiance, flying the flag in front of our homes, attending a Veterans Day parade or by simply voting and appreciating all the freedoms we enjoy as a free people.”
He said none of that is possible without veterans.
As a final note, the major asked each person in attendance to ask himself or herself if they have earned what the veterans had fought for.
A Veterans Day poem was read by chaplain Gary Naden and a second poem, “Freedom Isn’t Free,” was read by Barry Rosenzweig, representing the Veterans of the Vietnam War and the Veterans Coalition. He noted that 20 percent of homeless people in America are veterans.
Rosenzweig said he has been involved with Beacon House, an organization that refurbishes old homes and raises money for veterans.
Also attending the event at the senior center were Jackson Township Council President Michael Kafton, Councilman Scott Martin and Christopher Soleberry, pastor of the Hope of Glory Church, who gave the benediction.
Soleberry said he had a speech prepared, but stopped to think of how he would say thank you to the veterans. He said the men and women who serve in the military leave home and put their lives on the line on foreign soil.
“I can’t imagine the right thing to say,” he said. “I can’t imagine the right way to express the very freedoms that I enjoy every single day. I don’t know how to convey that.”
The pastor said if there is one thing he would like to say to military veterans, it is that he will not take for granted the very things they fought for and their comrades died for.
“[These include] not taking for granted the right to vote, the right to be a pastor, the right to travel, all the things we do every day because someone laid down their life and was unique enough to believe in the values of this country,” Soleberry said. “And let us not forget the parents who gave up their sons and daughters and their brothers and sisters. Those people are still here and have to live every day with that loss.”
Soleberry said he would also like to honor the parents, the brothers and sisters of all those who fought in the nation’s wars.
“Kids rarely understand the importance of Veterans Day, and we have to translate that to them,” the pastor added. “We would not be here today without our veterans.”