Irene De La Cruz: Glowing with pride on Veterans Day
Just as many veterans marched proudly in the parade in Merced on Saturday, I too felt proud of being part of a city and a county that shows its appreciation to our veterans.
The community came out in full force to support those men and women who helped secure our freedom. I saw people from Le Grand, Planada, Snelling, El Nido, Atwater and Livingston standing along the sidewalks with their families waving and saluting as the parade moved ahead.
I was happy to see the many American flags flying around town, especially the eye-catching display at Merced College, and how other individuals, businesses and organizations in the community paid their respects by providing a free lunch, a dedication event or a ceremony in their honor.
About five decades ago, the feeling toward our veterans was not so nice and people throughout the United States displayed their disrespect because of the Vietnam War.
Growing up in a small community, I didn’t witness that display of disrespect too much, other than what we saw on television.
What I did see was an older brother going away for a long time and trying to understand the sadness of my mom during his absence. I’m not aware of any exchange of letters between my brother and my parents or of being given updates of his status.
It just seemed as if they each knew what they had to do. He had to serve our country, and they had to keep things going back home and rely on their faith. My mom, being of strong faith and loyal to some of the Catholic saints, had made a promise to a particular saint that if my brother returned safe, she would take him to to Mexico to pay tribute to that saint, which she did. We were one of the fortunate families.
On my husband’s side of the family, there are five generations of veterans, including two brother-in-laws, my father-in-law and some uncles. They served in World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam. One of my brothers-in-law completed three tours in the Vietnam War.
Whether soldiers like my brother-in-law were drafted or volunteered to join the military, we owe these veterans our gratitude. They deserve to be treated with respect for enduring a portion of their lives in a war like Vietnam that sometimes seemed senseless. Whether we agreed with that war, they still served and still deserve our respect.
The shift of sentiment from negative to positive toward our veterans throughout the years was long overdue.
The tragedy of 9/11 in New York was certainly something that contributed to that sentiment, because it was part of another war that came to our country. It happened in our own backyard. It took something like that to remind us of the freedoms we all enjoy here at home that must be preserved. For that to happen, someone has to make a sacrifice.
As a smaller community, it’s important to focus on what we teach our youth about not only our veterans, but who we are as a community.
Whether you were involved in organizing an event this Veterans Day, just attended one of them or stayed home to watch the celebrations on television, your participation showed that Merced County cares about veterans, is willing to recognize them and celebrates their service.
On Veterans Day, throughout Merced County, we have much to be proud of.
Irene De La Cruz is a resident of Planada and has been involved with a number of community events and projects throughout Merced County. She owns her own business. She attended Merced College and California State University, Sacramento. She can be contacted at dlcirenel@ gmail.com.
This story was originally published November 13, 2014 at 5:04 PM with the headline "Irene De La Cruz: Glowing with pride on Veterans Day."