The Veterans Day ceremony to honor all U.S. Veterans will be held at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 7 at the Appling County Courthouse in Baxley. The Veterans Day Holiday is Wednesday, Nov. 11. Saturday will be a special time for our community to come together and thank and honor those veterans who served, and the ones who are serving, those brave young men and women who protect us today. Through the ages freedom has come at a price and those who gave that great sacrifice to protect our freedom should be honored, as well as those who served.

First SG Marvin Aldridge, age 88, who is a member of the VFW Post 4472 of Baxley spoke about what Veterans Day means to him. “It means a lot. They go all out,” he said. Aldridge believes Veterans Day is more important than Memorial Day. The best part of the ceremony that really gets to him is the playing of Taps and he points to his heart and says it get’s me right here every time I hear it,” he said. There is a tangible feeling that soldiers, veterans, and family members share at the playing of Taps.

During the Veterans’ Day event the local Boy Scouts will display the flags and the local Girl Scouts will read the statistics. They will also have a key note speaker. At last year’s ceremony the speaker was Lt. Col. INF Daniel Cormier, Fort Stewart. Lt. Col. Cormier just deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom for his third tour with the 2nd Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division. He is also still the Commander of 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment.

An update given on Sgt. Heather Geiger, the first lady veteran of the VFW in Baxley, Geiger was planning to go to Afganistan but instead she is currently in Iraq serving her 3rd tour. Heather is the daughter of Tina Geiger Lloyd of Baxley and the granddaughter of Joyce Weathers. Her mother and grandmother are members of the Women’s Auxiliary of the VFW.

Did you know that most Americans confuse Veterans Day with Memorial Day? Both holidays celebrate our veterans’ service, but with one significant difference. Memorial Day honors service members who died in service to their country or as a result of injuries incurred during battle. Veterans Day is set aside to thank and honor living veterans who served honorably in the military - in wartime or peacetime. Deceased veterans are also remembered on Veterans Day.

There are so many of us Americans that fly our flag because we love the United States of America. So often we forget what this country stands for and how we got this freedom and how we continue to keep it. Our Veterans and those that are active duty have fought to keep us free. They have risked their lives, lost their lives and put their lives in danger so that we may be free. Veterans Day is a time when all who have served can wear their colors and be proud of what they were no matter where or when they were in or what their job was. Each of them were a part of a whole and were important. The best of all is that they are a part of a select group of people...Veterans!