GAINESVILLE - Vietnam veteran and retired Lt. Col. J.D Kirby of Gainesville told a crowd of about 400 attending Friday's annual Veterans Day service in Gainesville that he was privileged to serve with some of America's finest soldiers.
"Some gave their lives there, some came home broken, some of us went as naive young men and came home as hardened cynics...all of us left something of ourselves there," said Kirby.
Kirby, who served two combat tours in Vietnam, was the featured speaker at the service sponsored by the Paul E. Bolding post of the American Legion. He encouraged his audience to remember those soldiers who are battling demons, as he put it, from time spent in battle.
"We need to remember them with appropriate counseling and emotional and medical care," he said.
Tom Reesman, an Army veteran and Ohio native who now lives in Gainesville, said he appreciated Kirby's comments.
"One of his main comments about this nation isn't at war, but the military is, that was true to form," noted Reesman.
Among the dozens of veterans in the audience was Ralph Brechter, 76, of Gainesville. Brechter, who said he attends the service every year, retired as a 1st Sgt. in the U.S. Army and served in Korea and twice in Vietnam.
"Well, every war is different," he reflected. "But I was honored to be able to go."
Traditionally, the Veterans Day service has been held at the Georgia Mountains Center. This year it was moved to Lakewood Baptist Church.
The service traditionally has been held at the Georgia Mountains Center, but was moved to Lakewood Baptist Church this year.
Saturday
June 29th, 2024
8:22AM
