Veterans Day

Lincolnton will celebrate Veterans Day along with the rest of the country on Thursday November 11th. Some communities have already had celebrations. Stanley held its Veterans Day commemoration Sunday (Nov. 7th) at the Stanley Pentecostal Holiness Church.

On Wednesday morning, Union Elementary School will hold its annual salute to veterans in the parking lot in front of the school off Reepsville Road.

Lincoln Charter School is holding a special program at both of its campuses this Friday (Nov. 12th). At the Denver campus, the event will be held at Rescue Squad Park across the road on Galway Lane from the school. Veterans can begin arriving at the Rescue Squad Park Pavilion at 8:30. Biscuits and coffee will be provided under the pavilion. At 9 AM, a parade will begin with a short student-led program under the pavilion. Following the program, veterans will board golf carts provided by the school to proceed around the paved loop of the park for the parade.

At the Lincolnton campus, the parade at 9:30 AM will kick off with a performance by the high school band and chorus. Following the performance, parade participants will go around the parade route where students and staff will be lined up. As veterans exit the parade route they will receive breakfast and a token of appreciation from Lincoln Charter students.

Lincolnton's Veterans Day Parade will begin at 11 AM. Participants will march or ride from Laurel Street down Main to the Courtsquare. A brief program will be held there. Following the parade, the American Legion will hold a hot dog luncheon at the Legion Hall on N. Aspen Street.

Government offices and schools will be closed Thursday.

One thing new for Veterans Day this year is the Hometown Heroes banners along Main Street and around the Courtsquare. Mayor Ed Hatley said of the project, headed up by Dale Punch, "it's the most positive thing I've seen happen since I've been mayor."

Shelby's Veterans Day parade will begin at 10 AM at the Foothills Farmers Market and will end at the Earl Scruggs Center, located in the historic old Cleveland County courthouse.

The City of Kings Mountain will have a Veterans Day Parade beginning at Patriots Park on S. Railroad Ave. at 10:30 AM. A portion of South Railroad Avenue and West Gold Street will be closed beginning at 9:00 and remain closed or barricaded until 11:00.

Gastonia's Veterans Day parade will start at 11 AM at the intersection of Broad Street and Main Avenue. i The parade will travel west on Main Avenue through downtown Gastonia, south on South Street, crossing Franklin Boulevard, then east on Second Avenue, ending at Memorial Hall at 109 W. Second Avenue.

The town of Catawba will hold its Veterans Day Festival and parade on Saturday (Nov. 13th). The festival will be from 10 AM - 4 PM and the parade begins at 2 PM.

There will no doubt be many Veterans Day speeches. On Veterans Day 1985, President Ronald Reagan delivered one that is among the best ever. We share it here with a sincere "thank you for your service" to all who served. Some put their lives on the line in combat; others served during peacetime. All swore allegiance to our nation and promised to defend it and its principles.

Here now is what President Reagan said 36 years ago:

"A few moments ago I placed a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and as I stepped back and stood during the moment of silence that followed, I said a small prayer. And it occurred to me that each of my predecessors has had a similar moment, and I wondered if our prayers weren't very much the same, if not identical.

"The living have a responsibility to remember the conditions that led to the wars in which some of our heroes died. Perhaps we can start by remembering this: that all of those who died for us and our country were, in one way or another, victims of a peace process that failed; victims of a decision to forget certain things; to forget, for instance, that the surest way to keep a peace going is to stay strong. Weakness, after all, is a temptation -- it tempts the pugnacious to assert themselves -- but strength is a declaration that cannot be misunderstood. Strength is a condition that declares actions have consequences. Strength is a prudent warning to the belligerent that aggression need not go unanswered.

"Peace fails when we forget what we stand for. It fails when we forget that our Republic is based on firm principles, principles that have real meaning, that with them, we are the last, best hope of man on Earth; without them, we're little more than the crust of a continent. Peace also fails when we forget to bring to the bargaining table God’s first intellectual gift to man: common sense. Common sense gives us a realistic knowledge of human beings and how they think, how they live in the world, what motivates them. Common sense tells us that man has magic in him, but also clay. Common sense can tell the difference between right and wrong. Common sense forgives error, but it always recognizes it to be error first.

"We endanger the peace and confuse all issues when we obscure the truth; when we refuse to name an act for what it is; when we refuse to see the obvious and seek safety in the Almighty. Peace is only maintained and won by those who have clear eyes and brave minds. Peace is imperiled when we forget to try for agreements and settlements and treaties; when we forget to hold out our hands and strive; when we forget that God gave us talents to use in securing the ends He desires. Peace fails when we forget that agreements, once made, cannot be broken without a price.

"Each new day carries within it the potential for breakthroughs, for progress. Each new day bursts with possibilities. And so, hope is realistic and despair a pointless little sin. And peace fails when we forget to pray to the source of all peace and life and happiness. I think sometimes of General Matthew Ridgeway, who, the night before D-day, tossed sleepless on his cot and talked to the Lord and listened for the promise that God made to Joshua: “I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.”

"Thank you. God bless you all, and God bless America."