Happy Veteran's Day

Nearly seventy years ago, on November 11, 1954, the first “official” Veterans Day was first observed. But veterans of military service have been honored by our country since the end of the Revolutionary War. Why? Our veterans, and especially those who sacrificed their lives in military service, have permitted the rest of us to live in a unique country of the people, by the people and for the people.

Veterans are heroes, all of them are heroes. But let me tell you of one of them because he exemplifies the type of person who deserves our thanks and honor. Bill U’Ren, a U.S. Marine Officer serving in Vietnam, was about to catch a plane back to the states after serving 13 months in combat. As the jeep pulled up to take him to his flight home, he saw new U.S. Marine troops about to walk into a mine field. He ran at them shouting about the danger they were about to encounter. They could not hear him. So he rushed ahead to stop them. As he approached them, his foot triggered a mine and he lost much of one of his legs. He received the Silver Star for his heroism. He lives in Baltimore these days with his wife Marie. How could we not honor such an individual? But he is just one of many who deserve our thanks and deep respect.

The military has always played a great part in America's culture of interdependence in that soldiers, aviators and sailors all understood that the job they had to do and had to be done with other people, for other people. Training, skills, and continual personal development are part of veterans’ training, and it is part of every Lifespire DSP. The training of our employees is in order to maintain consistency and the highest possible standard of care for those to whom we are given the responsibility of serving.

Such national holidays as Veterans Day, Memorial Day and even the Fourth of July reinforce that America’s freedom isn't free; it is a gift bequeathed by those who, for each generation, stood on the front lines to defend our national heritage. Let us never forget!