On an overcast Tuesday morning, veterans, their families, friends and neighbors mingled in front of the Veterans Memorial Building in Gilroy as they waited for the annual Veterans Day ceremony to begin. As the crowd gathered, members of the Gilroy Exchange Club distributed American flags to attendees young and old as they exchanged good tidings.
Sparking more than a few smiles throughout the crowd, a group of local boys and girls handed veterans ‘thank you’ cards, and after showing thanks, each child stood up straight, placed his or her right hand at their forehead and gave each veteran a heartfelt salute. A new Veterans Day tradition surfaced this year.
Liliana Kilmer, 11, was one of a handful of Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts who took time before the ceremony to individually recognize veterans in attendance—not just with words but with a smile, too.
“It felt like I was doing something special, not only for them but also for the community,” she said, wearing her Girl Scout uniform. “It’s important because the veterans are the reason—how do I explain it—they’re the reason we enjoy our freedom.”
Anthony Kilmer, Liliana’s father and a den leader for Cub Scout Troop 794, said he thought the gesture would help his children develop admiration for those who served and in the military.
“I wanted them to go to the memorial. It’s important for them to see that from beginning to end so they respect where they came from—and respect the uniform,” Anthony said, as he stood by Liliana and her 7-year-old brother Anthony.
The ceremony began with a presentation of colors by the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6309 and American Legion Post 217 Color Guard and the scouts led the pledge of allegiance. Students with the Gilroy High band, led by director Jonathan Souza, performed two songs for the crowd.
Fran Lopez, associate dean of the Disability Resource Center at Gavilan College and the founder of the newly opened Veterans Resource Center on campus was one of the ceremony’s featured speakers. It’s taken nearly four years for her idea of creating a safe place for veteran soldiers to get the support they need to become a reality, she said.
Initially, her motivation to help better understand and serve Gavilan’s student veteran population was fueled by watching two of her five brothers try to readjust to civilian life after seeing combat in the Middle East. Her family has been dedicated to military service as far back as World War I. Lopez’s father served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and his ship was attacked by a kamikaze. While many of his fellow seamen lost their lives, Lopez admitted he was lucky to have made it out alive.
“When my brothers came back from Iraq and Afghanistan, they were very different men and I wanted to understand them,” Lopez said. “They were also very closed (off) in terms of what they would say to anybody.”
That led her to ask veterans on campus what they needed and what the school might do to help them. From there, her passion grew and her inspiration blossomed as she met more and more student veterans. After 3.5 years of work, the center is open and it’s exactly where she and the student veteran population wanted it—smack dab in the center of campus.
“The biggest benefit of the center is it provides a safe place and common ground for our student veterans to share experiences and a place where brotherhood is valued,” Lopez said, explaining student vets can get everything from academic support to mentoring on the Gavilan campus.
Another guest speaker, U.S. Army Recruiter Staff Sgt. James Maddox, acknowledged that the support systems for today’s veterans far exceeds the resources older vets had the chance to tap into. But in Gilroy, he said, there is a strong sense of comradery between service members past and present.
“For my brothers and sisters returning home now, there are a lot more support systems than there were for you guys. I really appreciate everything you guys have done,” Maddox said, speaking to the veterans in the crowd. “Like other families out there, my entire family served. My brothers—one was a Navy corpsman and one is Marine. Sure, we go out there and we talk crap to each other but the bottom line is we know when it comes down to it we have each other’s backs. I’ve never seen that more than here.”
Mark Turner, featured speaker and president and CEO of the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce, admitted that “our words tend to fall short” on Veterans Day, especially when honoring those who lost their lives in combat.
“John F. Kennedy said ‘as we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them,’” Turner said. “What we do is we try to do is live by our words and appreciate you (veterans) for what you’ve done. Our deeds may fall short in comparison to what you’ve done in the military.”
This year, the Chamber is promoting an easy way to express gratitude working with Wreaths Across America—an organization that lays wreaths on the headstones of fallen warriors nationwide—to pay tribute to Gilroy and Morgan Hill veterans who died. Volunteers will place the wreaths, sponsored by members of the public, locally at 9 a.m. Dec. 13. The local ceremony will coincide with the one held at the Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, Turner said.
Before the VFW and American Legion Color Guard retired the colors, VFW Post 6309 Chaplain Edward Aki took an opportunity to read a tribute to those who made what he calls “the supreme sacrifice”—those who never made it home to enjoy the very freedoms they fought to uphold.
“When we are weary and in need of strength, we remember them. When we are lost and sick at heart, we remember them. When we have joys we yearn to share, we remember them,” Aki recited. “As long as we live, they too shall live.”
