America’s military veterans are ordinary people who accomplished extraordinary things.
That was the message delivered by keynote speaker Retired U.S Army Col. Robert Watson at Lawrence Township’s annual Veterans Day observance on Nov. 11. He is the commander of the 112th Field Artillery Association.
The annual Veterans Day observance is sponsored by the Lawrence Township Patriotic Committee, the 112th Field Artillery Association, the National Guard Militia Museum of New Jersey, American Legion Post 414 and the Lawrence Township Recreation Department.
Watson said America’s veterans are a select group. Fewer than 1% of Americans who are alive today have served in the U.S. military, yet the veterans are the ones who defended the country when its borders, its people and its way of life were threatened.
“When others turned away, it was our veterans who were willing to stand up and be counted,” he said. “This gathering today is to honor American veterans and their devotion to duty and country.”
Veterans command the respect of the American people. After the Revolutionary War, President George Washington said that veterans are owed a debt of gratitude and “indeed a debt of honor,” Watson said.
“‘Poor the nation that has not heroes, but poorer the nation that does and that doesn’t remember,'” he said, quoting Cicero, the Roman orator.
The United States of America, however, will always take the time to remember its heroes – the men and women who serve and have served in the military, Watson said.
Watson asked for military veterans in the audience of about 50 people to stand up and be recognized, as he called out each branch of the military. One by one, veterans of the U.S. Army, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Marine Corps, the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Coast Guard stood up.
Watson asked the friends and family members of those veterans to stand up, too, because although they did not wear a military uniform, the sacrifices they made were great.
Master of Ceremonies Retired U.S Navy Commander Andrew Tunnard reminded the veterans of the oath they took when they were sworn into the military.
They swore to support and defend the U.S. Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and to bear true faith and allegiance to the same. They swore that they took the obligation “freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion,” Tunnard said.
“At some point every day of my life, I remember the oath I took to help defend my country and its Constitution,” he said. “I am sure all the veterans here can recall that moment too.”
In trying to understand what the oath means, it is helpful to understand what it does not say. It says nothing about a political party, nor does it mention any allegiance to a king or dictator or any individual, Tunnard said.
It implies that people taking the oath understand what the U.S. Constitution means and will ensure that protecting and advancing that meaning will be the purpose of their service, he said.
“Veterans Day is a day to celebrate and thank the hundreds of thousands of men and women who have raised their hand and took the oath to support and defend an idea that is greater than themselves,” Tunnard said.
Wrapping up the Veterans Day observance, Watson, Ken Bernabe, American Legion Post 414 Commander Charles Brothers and Peter Vinch placed a wreath at the World War I monument in front of the Lawrence Township Municipal Building.
The wreath-laying was followed by an artillery salute by a cannon crew from the 112th Field Artillery Association. The crew fired off several volleys from the M-116 Pack Howitzer from the National Guard Militia Museum of New Jersey, which is on Eggert Crossing Road.
