Community honors veterans for service, sacrifices

Too often, their sacrifices are overlooked or their service taken for granted. 

Monday, residents took time to thank the community's veterans for both their service and the sacrifices it entails at a special Veterans Day tribute at War Memorial Field. 

"When we visualize who or what is a veteran, a few words come to mind — courage, and sacrifice," Thomas Lindley, the county's Veterans Services officer, said in welcoming the community to the Veterans Day ceremony. 

Thanking his son Logan who helped write his speech, and the 50-60 people who attended the tribute, including veterans and their family members, Lindley noted that more than 41 million Americans have served in the military since the Revolutionary War. Today, there are 18.6 living veterans, including 4,200 in Bonner County and 116,000 in Idaho. 

Veterans Day honors veterans for their service, regardless of whether they served during wartime or peace. It gives the country a chance to thank its living veterans for their service and acknowledge their sacrifices.  

"Now conjure in your mind who or what a veteran is. Now reflect upon the significance they should have in our hearts, the gratitude we should feel towards them for all they have accomplished for us," Lindley said. "I firmly believe that veterans always will serve a fundamental purpose that we often overlook. They represent the courage and might of our nation." 

Lindley, a 29-year Air Force veteran and the county's Veterans Service officer, highlighted the significance of Veterans Day, emphasizing the contributions of the 18.6 million living veterans in the U.S., including the 4,200 in Bonner County. He underscored the sacrifices veterans have made, noting the U.S.'s involvement in over 100 armed conflicts. 

"Veterans and their families sacrifice so much of themselves and their lives, serving and protecting us," Lindley said. "Most importantly, they represent a key fundamental reality that we, as Americans, all enjoy and should embrace — our freedom and liberty." 

He encouraged the 50-60 veterans, family members and community members not to understate veterans' contributions in keeping Americans safe, both at home and around the world. 

"Our veterans have always represented the strength and patriotism of the United States, helping forge our great nation from the ashes of conflict and always fighting for a lasting peace in a world faced with so many uncertainties and conflicts for almost 250 years," Lindley said. 

No generation has been spared the responsibility of defending America's freedoms, with veterans taking part in more than 100 armed conflicts, including 12 major conflicts, from fighting for the nation's independence to preventing the spread of communism to attempting to stamp out terrorism. 

"The men and women out on the front lines helped shape our nation for the better. They fought for peace to miss conflicts both within our borders and abroad," Lindley said. "They fought for the dream of keeping us safe and the hope for continuation of democracy and liberty. They fought to create for us, the land of the free and the home of the brave." 

Lindley urged those gathered to support the veterans as much as they have supported them through their service. Not just in gratitude but to keep their actions and memories alive. 

Without their service, the country and the world would look far different, Lindley said. 

"Today, we live in peace because of the struggles they overcame to make it so," he added. "The sacrifices they made are why we need to remember their fights, and honor and support their work." 

Echoing the words of President Ronald Reagan, Lindley said serving in the military means giving your time, service, and possibly your life, so that everyone has what is promised them.

"Veterans have given us freedom, the ability to strive for so much more and to be able to achieve it, to find success and a satisfying life, the ability to pursue happiness, being able to give love to ourselves and one another, the privilege to see the great liberty we live with today," Lindley said. 

Among those attending was Dover Mayor George Eskridge, who said he attended to honor two brothers who served as well as his father and stepfather. 

"I think the importance of today is just to remember the past, how we were in different conflicts, how we survived and to hope that we continue the freedom that we have and that people in America will stand up, as they have before, serve their country and help us defend our freedom," Eskridge said of the day's importance and why he attended the ceremony. 

Veteran Thomas Spade, wearing his U.S. Navy uniform from when he served in the late 1950s to early '60s, said he appreciated the community turning out to support veterans like himself. It is nice, he said, to know that area residents support them and their service. 

"It's important to remember (this day) because it's our freedom and our way of life that we could lose," Spade added. 

Lindley told those gathered to look around, to think about the students and co-workers, their friends and family members, who have served. Remember those who live and those who are no longer around. 

"Think about the service they gave to others in need," he added. "Think about the lives saved, and likewise, those ended. And think about the protection, the sacrifice and the courage they must have had to show." 

    Veteran Thomas Spade, who served in the U.S. Navy from 1958-1962, listens to a speech during Monday's Veterans Day ceremony at War Memorial Field.
  

    Tom Lindley, Bonner County's Veteran Services officer and a 29-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force, talks to those gathered at War Memorial Field about the importance of Veterans Day.
  

    Plaques at War Memorial Field pay tribute to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice.