Maxie Joy: I’m proud to be a veteran
By Melissa Rollins, Editor, editor@newsandpress.net
A native son returned to Lamar on Nov. 10 to serve as the keynote speaker for the Civitan’s annual Veterans Day Celebration, held at the Lamar Veterans Park.
Before Maxie Joy’s speech, Civitan’s President Jim Windham reminded the audience the reason for celebrating Veterans Day.
“On Veterans Day, we take time to honor our veterans,” Windham said. “When Francis Scott Key wrote the Star Spangled Banner almost 200 years ago, he called American the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. Those words are as true today as they were then. Throughout this nation’s history, American soldiers, sailors, airman, Marines and Coast Guard have bravely answered the call to defend our freedom, to aid our friends and allies and to turn back aggression. We can never fully repair our debt of gratitude to the more than 650,000 American service members who died in battle, or the 1.4 million who were wounded. We can, however, recognize and thank the 25 million veterans still living today.”
As Windham spoke about the cost of living in a free country, he got emotional.
“The price of freedom is high; we cannot afford to forget those willing to pay it,” Windham said. “Today we celebrate American veterans for keeping this nation the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.”
Maxie Joy is a retired Colonel in the United States Army. He served for 27 years before retiring. His speech highlighted his journey from Lamar to the man he is today before talking about veterans and the impact they have on America.
“Throughout our history, veterans have played a key role in the growth of the nation,” Joy said. “They explored the wilderness, helped build the canals and the railroads that knitted the country together. They guarded the frontiers and on a thousand battlefields on land, at sea and in the air, veterans fought the brave battles to decide our fate as a people and country.”
Joy said that veterans allow our country to continue on as it has for so many years.
“Even in the midst of the global war on terror, we enjoy a sense of peace because of the sacrifice of millions of veterans whose ranks are filled with heroes spanning every conflict from the Great War to our current war,” Joy said. “Through a long and bitter cold war and countless places stricken by famine, veterans brought hope, help and a sense of peace.”
Find more photos from the ceremony at: https://newsandpress.smugmug.com/Lamar-Veterans-Day-2017/
