We honor all our veterans today and every day
It was in 1919 that Porterville marked the first Armistice Day signaling the end of World War I. A parade was held in downtown Porterville that year and this year’s observance will be the 94th by this patriotic community.
On its website, the Veterans Administration states, “In November 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day with the following words: ‘To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations. ”
We, along with the community and the nation, salute our many veterans.
We salute Agustin Chacon, the 97-year-old veteran of World War II featured in today’s special Veterans Day section by The Recorder. We salute Michael Ratekin, a recent veteran of the war in Afghanistan. We salute Octavio Rodriguez, a Purple Heart recipient, and Doug Care, a Navy veteran who is working to get sailors killed in a training exercise off of Vietnam during the Vietnam War recognized on the Vietnam War Memorial. We salute Norberto Esmundo, who served in Vietnam, and Joe Lucas, who served in Korea.
We salute the other seven veterans we featured in today’s special section and all our veterans. All have sacrificed a lot and all have made this nation greater.
It is not a difficult task for us to come up with veterans to feature every year. Porterville has a long and rich history of men and women serving their country. Unfortunately, the list of those from this area who have paid with their lives for their country is also long and continues to grow. We must definitely remember them today.
