Usually on Veterans Day hundreds of people from around the community crowd into the Belgrade Special Events Center to honor our local veterans. This year, however, this touching and moving event could not happen because of COVID-19. Still wanting to honor our local veterans, the Belgrade School District has issued the following message:

 

Dear Veterans,

The United States of America celebrates Veterans Day today Wednesday, November 11th. Veterans are those that have made a decision to serve their country, and follow through on that commitment. Any commitment requires sacrifice. Veterans sacrifice their time, moments with their families, and certain conveniences that we may take for granted. Some even ultimately sacrifice their lives.

Veterans have made a commitment to follow the call to serve their country and are unconditionally engaged in the task at hand. This commitment requires sacrifice, as Veterans denied themselves and served others. Serving and personal sacrifice are fundamental elements of the call that they accepted.

We can be very thankful for Veterans fulfilling a call to serve their country. Veterans are reliable examples who are qualified to teach others about serving and sacrifice through commitment. They have perhaps lived through sufferings, but kept soldiering. Serving as a soldier they did not get entangled in disruptions, but rather always stayed focused & followed instructions with attention to detail, specificity, and demonstrated perseverance and strength found within the camaraderie of those they served. Their hardworking attitude built grit that provided endurance to accomplish their missions, vision, and goals for the sake of all of us that we may continue in the conveniences of our freedoms.

A plaque reads: “A veteran is someone who, at one point in his/her life, wrote a blank check made payable to ‘The United States of America,’ for an amount of ‘up to and including my life.’” On behalf of those of us who have never been asked to write, or have never written, such a blank check, we say thank you to all Veterans! Veterans are an example of what it means to serve a cause greater than oneself, the cause is freedom. We are thankful for the men and women who today step forward and, in the past, have stepped forward for this cause, and we wish for them strength and protection.

Sincerely,

Belgrade School District #44

 

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