CAMP BLANDING\u00a0\u2013 U.S. Rep. Aaron Bean surveyed the wind-swept audience at Tuesday\u2019s\u00a0Veterans Day Ceremony at Camp Blanding. He saw a mix of grizzled veterans and children, all huddled to stay warm\u00a0and to honor the\u00a0sacrifices of the men and women\u00a0who\u2019ve\u00a0served in the military.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou could be anywhere. Most of you got the day off,\u201d Bean said. \u201cKids\u00a0aren\u2019t\u00a0in school, yet you chose to come here to celebrate, to honor and to say thank you for your service.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also have a duty to teach the next generation what true service is and devotion and to value the veteran service and military sacrifice. Ronald Reagan said, ‘This freedom is one generation away from extinction.’ Freedom and the sense of honor and\u00a0appreciation\u00a0are\u00a0not passed through blood.\u00a0It’s\u00a0only passed when we teach the next generation\u00a0what’s\u00a0at stake.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The annual event\u00a0followed a trend of\u00a0unusual weather.\u00a0Two years ago, it rained throughout the hour-long speaking engagement. Last year, it was unusually hot. On November 11, the temperature never rose above\u00a050 degrees. Added with a brisk wind, it felt brutally chilly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But the stands were still filled.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI want you all to know that Florida has more veterans than any other state,\u00a0except\u00a0Texas,\u201d Bean said. \u201cFlorida is No. 2. The congressional district that I serve in, that we are in right now, is in the top five out of 435 congressional districts.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Other speakers included County Commission\u00a0Chairman\u00a0Betsy Condon, Superintendent David\u00a0Broskie\u00a0and Camp Blanding\u00a0Joint Training Center Cmdr. Col.\u00a0Jason M. Hunt.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Clay County and the Camp Blanding Museum sponsored the celebration. It included free exhibits, tours of the museum, and displays of military equipment throughout the museum complex, as well as vendors and lunch at World War II prices, prepared by attorney David King, County Manager Howard Wanamaker, former County Commissioner Doug Conkey,\u00a0and Thrasher-Horne Center\u00a0Executive Director Bob Olson.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bean\u00a0summed up the meaning of Veterans Day by reminding everyone of the dedicated service provided by millions of soldiers since the country’s founding.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLadies and gentlemen, before the sun rose over Normandy, before the snow fell in Korea, before the jungles of Vietnam echoed with battle cries and before the dust settled after 9-11, there were Americans who stood up, raised their hands and said, \u2018I will serve.\u2019 Veterans Day is the time to commemorate the valor and sacrifices of the courageous men and women who enlisted in our\u00a0Armed\u00a0Services,\u00a0and fought to protect and preserve our American liberties,\u00a0values\u00a0and way of life,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is on this day that we salute our fearless patriots who have kept America safe. We remember the men who ran ashore the beaches of Normandy to end World War\u00a0II;\u00a0those who fought in the snows of Korea;\u00a0and those who bravely fought in the impenetrable jungles\u00a0of\u00a0Vietnam, as well as the men and women who were called to serve in the aftermath of 9-11.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause of our veterans\u2019\u00a0unselfish dedication, unmatched\u00a0valor\u00a0and unsurpassed devotion to our nation’s values, we the people\u00a0have the opportunity to\u00a0experience life,\u00a0liberty\u00a0and the pursuit of happiness. It is because of you, our veterans,\u00a0that our hearts burst with pride, our enemies shiver in\u00a0fear\u00a0and America flies on the wings of freedom.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CAMP BLANDING\u00a0\u2013 U.S. Rep. Aaron Bean surveyed the wind-swept audience at Tuesday\u2019s\u00a0Veterans Day Ceremony at Camp Blanding. He…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":375982,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5136],"tags":[5229,15024,15015,15023,15026,3188,15016,723,15021,7310,15020,15022,7648,15018,15017,15025,15019,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-375981","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jacksonville","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-argyle","10":"tag-clay-county","11":"tag-doctors-inlet","12":"tag-eagle-harbor","13":"tag-fl","14":"tag-fleming-island","15":"tag-florida","16":"tag-green-cove-springs","17":"tag-jacksonville","18":"tag-keystone-heights","19":"tag-lake-asbury","20":"tag-margaret","21":"tag-middleburg","22":"tag-orange-park","23":"tag-pace-island","24":"tag-penney-farms","25":"tag-united-states","26":"tag-united-states-of-america","27":"tag-unitedstates","28":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","29":"tag-us","30":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115542550741003604","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=375981"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375981\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/375982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=375981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=375981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=375981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}