VETERANS DESERVE TRIBUTE AS GUARDIANS OF FREEDOM

Freedom. The Berlin Wall has crumbled and the Iron Curtain has tumbled. We watch spellbound as peoples across the globe give their lives for freedoms we too often take for granted: The right to vote for our leaders, the right to speak freely, the right of individual ownership, the right to pursue our own lives.

But despite our apparent apathy, Americans do realize that the price of freedom does not come cheaply. Our cemeteries are filled with brave soldiers who died to ensure the American way of life. They gave the greatest sacrifice they could make for our country.

The men and women of our armed services both past and present have been the guardians of our freedom. It is fitting that we pay tribute to them not just on Veterans Day, but throughout the year. From revolutionary soldiers to the troops of the Persian Gulf it is they we have to thank for our daily freedoms.

Many of the observances will take note of the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Dec. 7, 1941 surprise attack on Pearl Harbor.

Today, Cape Girardeau will mark Veterans Day with ceremonies beginning at 3 p.m. A parade will begin at the Common Pleas Courthouse Park and proceed west on Broadway to Freedom Corner in Capaha Park. Then, U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson will present a newly-authorized congressional Battle of Pearl Harbor medal to 50 local survivors of the attack, or their next of kin.

Jackson will pay tribute to veterans with a Monday parade, beginning at 5:30 p.m. at the Jackson High School. The parade will wind through the uptown business district to the American Legion post home on North High Street. Veterans will then dedicate a memorial on the legion grounds. A program will follow.

Veterans Day is a long-standing tradition in America. Nov. 11 was first proclaimed a holiday in 1919 as Armistice Day. It marked the end of World War I on Nov. 11, 1918.

The holiday had a rebirth of sorts in 1953, at the hand of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. He expanded the day to honor all veterans, and said the annual holiday would become "a day dedicated to world peace."

This Veterans Day is much different than 1990. Then, a large contingent of American soldiers were in the Persian Gulf. America has not only been a leader in guarding freedoms at home, but ensuring peace and stability around the globe.

Thankfully, we celebrate this year's holiday in peace time. But we don't have to remember far to the perils of war, or the sacrifices of our brave soldiers. America's veterans deserve our yearlong gratitude for the peace and freedoms we enjoy today. They are heroes, and a source of pride and strength for all Americans.