Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54YOUNG MARINES ESPRIT ONLINE 21 By YM/SSgt Adela Eccli Golden Gate (CA) While I was at the Golden Gate Cemetery Veterans Day Celebration, a young boy, around the age of eight, approached me and asked, “What is Veterans Day, why is it so important?” While I have thought of what Veterans Day is,I had not been asked to articulate and explain this to anyone before. This is what I said to him: Veterans Day honors the men and women who have served our country, in war and in peacetime.Without these heroic in- dividuals, we would not be able to enjoy the freedom we have in this country. Veterans Day gives us an opportunity to recognize, honor, respect and thank our veterans and realize that our precious freedoms, which we take for granted ev- ery day, have a real cost, a human cost. Veterans Day allows us to say, thank you, which is a small but important gesture, to express our gratitude of the many sacrifices our veterans and their families, have made. What Veterans Day Is, and Why It Is So Important to Us Golden Gate Young Marines: Honoring Veterans for the sacrifices that allow us to enjoy freedom. By YM/PFC Leah Collins Hanover Area (PA) Supporting our veterans is one of Hanover Area Young Marines’top priorities.We participated in many events during the week of Veterans Day to give back to the brave people fighting for our country, although these events are only a small portion of what we do for our veterans. For example, weeks before Veteran Posts Day, our unit went to the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and both built a stage and replaced stars with American flags on the names of the deceased veterans. Our unit participated in the color guard at Mount Olivet Cemetery. November 9th, some of our unit traveled to Sacred Heart Elementary School to give a lesson on flag etiquette and flag folding. The day after Veterans Day was spent post- ing the colors for new Hope Faith Community Church. We attended a church service and listened to a veteran’s speech about serving America. Young Marines participated in color guards for Hanover and South West high schools, and we handed out red cord bracelets with a card attached explain- ing the importance of Red Ribbon Week at South Western High school. On Saturday, our unit assisted veterans’ families plant trees in memory of their loved ones at Codorus State Park. A cere- mony was held before trees were planted. Some families laid a stone along the base of their tree beside an American flag. Follolwing that event, we joined Elk’s Lodge for color guard. No amount of thank-you’s can make it up to the men and women who choose to serve America, but we try our best.We continue to honor them. There isn’t a day that goes by that we don’t think about those who have served our country. Hanover Area: We Helped Plant Trees to Honor Veterans Indiana: Our Veterans Remembrance Day Honors All Fallen By David Hulett Indiana Young Marines In 2012, the Indiana Young Marines, with the help of a few great supporters, became the very first entity in Indiana to honor all fallen Hoosier Veterans since 9/11, regardless of their branch and regardless of the location or method in which they died. We feel that their service to our Country is no less honorable because they were in a car accident, or a house fire instead of a com- bat zone when they died. These Veterans deserve to be remembered. They de- serve our thanks, our tears and our prayers just as much as those who died in combat. Their families, some who are here with us today, still lost someone close to them. It has been calculated that every life lost, effects at least 50 people in that person’s immediate family and circle of friends. We are here today to make sure that the more than twenty four thousand friends and family of these Indiana Veterans being honored at our ceremony know that little by little, our youth are being taught that it’s not how or where these Heroes died, but the dash between the dates of their birth and death that mean the most to their families and should mean the most to all of us. In 2012, we started off with 12 guests watching… 5 years later, we have a State Sena- tor as an annually committed speaker, 5 major local Veter- ans Organizations provide PR and fundraising support and in 2016, we had slightly more than a hundred guests. Not as much of an increase in support as I would like,but it is going in the right direc- tion. It’s always on the last Saturday in September, to help kick off the Gold Star Mother’s convention in Indiana the next morning.