Ironwood celebrates Veterans Day

By RICHARD JENKINS

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Ironwood - Students and members of the public gathered in Luther L. Wright's John Krznarich gymnasium Wednesday for one of several Veterans Day ceremonies held in the area to honor those who served in the military.

Beginning with an introduction by cadet Lt. Col. Desmond Sackmann - a member of the school's JROTC program - and presentation of colors by the JROTC color guard, the ceremony featured a performance by the school's band and choir as well as retired Army Lt. Col. David Manki as the keynote speaker.

Manki's speech touched on a variety of topics, including the the importance of the holiday and why many veterans served in the military.

"Freedom is the right to act, speak and think the way we want. We have the right to choose how we act, speak and think;, our Constitution guarantees our rights," Manki said. "We can go to our church, we can say what we want to say, we can read what we want to read, we can get together with our friends. No one can put us in jail without a trial, without an attorney, without a jury, think about that - you have rights.

"And those rights were won on the battlefield by veterans and have been preserved by veterans."

He also talked about what it means to be a veteran

"Sacrifice, what does that mean? It means giving up something you like for something bigger than your needs. Everyone sacrifices when they join the military, their lives change. They give up being at home, they give up being with their friends and family during the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving and Christmas - so you can celebrate being at home with your friends and family on the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Veterans understand that."

Finally he cautioned that war should be viewed for what it is and not glorified.

"If you don't remember anything I say today, remember that war is terrible. It destroys things, it hurts people and it wastes money. Never think that war is good or war is cool. It's not," Manki said. "But our freedoms, your freedom, must be protected and that's what our veterans do every day."

He then read a list of names of Ironwood locals that served recently or are still serving. He followed this by calling Jesse Carroll, Ashley Basso and Zach Combs to the stage. Carroll, who graduated from Ironwood last year, is currently in the Marines, while Basso and Combs will join the military after graduation this year. Basso will serve in the Army and Combs in the Marines.

Following Manki's speech, there was a roll call of deceased veterans and moment of silence that was ended with the performance of "Taps" by Brett Mattson.

The colors were then retired before the JROTC battalion passed in review to exit the gym.