Lansdale Veterans Day Ceremony: 'The Light of Freedom Still Burns Brightly'

On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918, "the war to end all wars" came to an end in an armistice, taking 116,000 lives with it.
On the eighteenth hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 2013, Vietnam War veteran Chip Newnam, of Limerick (U.S. Army 1969-1974), spoke at Lansdale Memorial Park of how Veterans Day is about remembrance of those who served in time of war and those who served in time of peace.
The event was hosted by William E. Hare American Legion Post 206 in Lansdale. Rev. Sue Bertolette of St. John's United Church of Christ in Lansdale gave the introduction at the well-attended event, and then the benediction before Taps.
"On Veterans Day, we remember the fallen, and we show respect to those still among us: the veterans we know as our friends, neighbors, relatives and colleagues," Newnam said. "Not every veteran has known the full fury of battle. But most count their time in uniform among the defining experiences of their lives."
The military instilled the best in each man and woman in uniform, through loyalty, diligence and discipline.
"That is a bond joining every veteran from every branch of the service. Whether drafted or enlisted, commissioned or non-commissioned, each took an oath, lived by a code, and stood ready to fight and die for their country," Newnam said.
The military life, he said, is built around sacrifice and devotion of America.
Our lives today, he said, were shaped by veterans, many who also played the role of dad, granddad or role model.
"My sense of gratitude to (the World War II) generation only deepens with the years," Newnam said. "We have also come to appreciate more than ever the veterans of Korea and Vietnam."
Newnam said that no matter how complicated war might be, it comes down to the pilots, the captains and the ones who carry the rifles.
"The uniform they wear," he said, "and the flag they carry, are held in esteem wherever they have served."
Newnam's Veterans Day address mentioned how the war has come to America. Terrorists, he said, have declared themselves mortal enemies of the United States, and will be dealt with as such.
"We Americans have no illusions about the difficulties that lie ahead," he said. "But we now with absolute certainty that this nation will persevere, and we will prevail."
There will always be good, and there will always be evil.
"When the chips are down and freedom is threatened, our men and women have always answered the call," Newnam said.
In war, he said, winning is everything.
"There is no place for second place," he said. "History has taught us many lessons. Those nations who do not prepare for war in times of peace will pa in the blood of their sons and daughters in time of war."
Newnam said Americans need to "sound the wake up call" and spread the word that freedom is not free.
"Pass the torch of freedom. You served your nation and the nation still needs your voices," he said. "The light of freedom still burns brightly."