Wray says Veterans feel special bond

By: 
George Browning

America takes one day a year to stop and say thank you to the men and women who have served this country on Veteran’s Day.

Those who have served feel appreciated, according to Army Veteran Delbert Wray, who was the guest speaker at the Veteran’s Day program held on the lawn of the Washington County Courthouse November 11.

Wray told the crowd every time he hears those words, “Thanks for your service,” he feels an extreme sense of pride, not only for himself, but for all who have served this great nation.

“They have no idea if I served in combat or spent all my time in service driving a truck,” Wray said of those who thank him for his service. “They don’t know if I won a medal of honor or spent my entire service time peeling potatoes. It really doesn’t matter to them. What matters is that we served and we were all willing to do whatever we needed to do for our country.”

Wray said that is the bond that connects every veteran -- the willingness to do whatever they were asked to do.

He said that’s a lesson he learned from Herschel “Woody” Williams, who is the last surviving Medal of Honor winner from the Battle of Iwo Jima.

“He looked at me and said, ‘Son, we all do what we have to do, when we need to do what has to be done,’” Wray said. “That speaks to me so much truth in the role of being a Veteran.”

A willingness to do whatever is just part of the bond. The other part of the bond is the fact that each generation of veterans stands on the shoulders of the generations of Veterans who have served before them.

Wray got emotional as he spoke of those Veterans who paid the ultimate sacrifice.

“To our Veteran brothers and sisters who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country, our simple words of thanks, will never seem to be enough,” Wray said. “Oh how I wish I could tell them one more time, ‘Thank you for your service!’”

The program also included Boy Scout Troop 4029 attending the flag, as well as the American Legion, VFW Auxiliaries and Daughters of the American Revolution placing the wreaths.

The American Legion performed “Taps” and the VFW firing squad paid tribute to the fallen.

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