<img src="http://www.joplinglobeonline.com/images/zope/extra.gif" border=0>Speakers cite sacrifices made by military veterans<font color="#ff0000"> w/ slide show </font>

Home

Related Photos

Discussion

November 11, 2009

Anonymous The Joplin Globe Wed Nov 11, 2009, 11:19 PM CST

By Emily Younker

eyounker@joplinglobe.com

ROCKY COMFORT, Mo. — When William Blevins got up Wednesday morning, he put on a T-shirt sporting the slogan “Freedom is not free” for Veterans Day.

His 7-year-old grandson, Jason, questioned the phrase. In Jason’s mind, Blevins said, freedom was free.

“I had to explain to him about how people died to keep freedom free,” said Blevins, a Rocky Comfort resident who served in the Navy during the Vietnam War. “We had to fight these wars throughout the years to keep freedom free. He kind of understood it.”

Blevins was among more than 20 veterans who were recognized individually at a Veterans Day ceremony Wednesday afternoon at Rocky Comfort Elementary School in McDonald County. Students, staff members, parents and residents attended to honor them and their service.

Guest speakers

Guest speakers were retired Gen. Terrence R. Dake of the Marine Corps and retired Lt. Col. Robert Brumley II, a 22-year veteran of the Air Force. Both graduated from McDonald County schools.

Dake, a 34-year Marine Corps veteran who also was former President Ronald Reagan’s helicopter pilot from 1983 to 1985, said his overseas tours helped remind him of what he was protecting at home.

“I’d come back to America, and I had an overwhelming feeling of what a great nation we are, how free we are,” Dake said. “I’m 65 years old, and I’ve never lived a day I wasn’t free.”

Dake said it’s important to remember what veterans sometimes had to do to protect Americans’ freedom.

“These are tough things to do,” he said of veterans’ sacrifices, “but they’re serving something greater than self.”

Brumley, grandson of gospel music’s “I’ll Fly Away” writer Alfred E. Brumley, encouraged students to take their education seriously as a thank-you to veterans.

“The best thing about education is once you have it, no one can take it away from you,” Brumley told the student-filled gymnasium. “We’re blessed to have the freedom to be educated. Don’t take it for granted.”

Brumley told the students to be committed to their education, just as veterans were committed to their country.

“They’ve already made their commitment,” he said of the veterans in the room. “They’re great examples of that word and what it means.”

Veterans

Marvin Burnett, of Rocky Comfort, said he thought the school’s annual Veterans Day program, in its 32nd year, was fantastic.

“It lets the young people know veterans are still very important to us,” said Burnett, who served in the Army National Guard during the Vietnam War. “I’m glad to see them (veterans) out here. It makes me proud to be part of them.”

Harry Sumler, of Anderson, said he remembers attending one of Rocky Comfort’s first Veterans Day programs about 30 years ago, when participants gathered around the flagpole.

“It was real good,” Sumler, a member of the Army who was stationed in Germany during the Cold War, said of Wednesday’s program. “I enjoyed it all.”

Students

The program also included several Rocky Comfort students who shared Veterans Day essays they had written.

“These people have fought to keep our freedom and the freedom of others,” eighth-grader Brian Mahon said. “All these people have made large sacrifices, from leaving their husbands, wives and children to devoting their lives to sacrifice.”

Sixth-grader Tyler Cleaver gave a special shout-out to his grandfather, a Vietnam War veteran, while reading his essay.

“Veterans don’t just serve our country, they fight for what’s right,” he said. “I think they are bravery at its best.”

Seven-year-old Jason Blevins seemed to have a clearer understanding of Veterans Day by the end of the school day. Not only did he have an at-home lesson about the message on his grandfather’s T-shirt, but he also participated in Wednesday’s program by singing two patriotic songs with his class.

Veterans Day, he said, is “where they celebrate veterans. They fought for freedom.”