A Call to Do More on Veterans Day in West Hartford

The town of West Hartford paid tribute to those who have served in the military at the 2013 Veterans Day ceremony at the Connecticut Veterans Memorial on Monday morning.

Dozens of people turned out for the half-hour ceremony, which included speeches by elected officials and veterans, as well as the singing of the Star Spangled Banner by the King Philip Middle School Singers.

Mayor Scott Slifka said that while the ceremony is always nice, more can, and should be done, by citizens in recognizing those who have served our country and protected our freedoms.

“Ceremonies like today’s are always wonderful, but I always leave them feeling a little bit inadequate,” Slifka said. “I love being here, but I always leave here like I haven’t done enough and that maybe we as a society haven’t done enough.”

Slifka offered three suggestions of what can be done: reinstitute the draft; institute compulsory service in an organization - though not necessarily the military, and move Election Day to Veterans Day.

“Something is wrong when only a small minority of us take the time on Veterans Day to actually thank a veteran,” he said. “Something is wrong when I searched ‘Veterans Day’ on Google, and the first five hits related to freebies and sales.

“Something is fundamentally wrong when only 1 percent of us serve in the military while 99 percent of us do not.”

Slifka said that by implementing his three suggestions, the nation’s foreign policy would look a lot different, the country’s crumbling infrastructure could be re-built and voter participation would increase.

Town Council Minority Leader Denise Hall captured the solemnity of the day in her remarks.

“It seems there will always be wars, and there will always be a need for brave men and women to choose to serve their country first before pursuing their own career path,” Hall said.

Hall said that her great uncle died from the effects of inhaling mustard gas in World War I.

“The World War was The Great World War or The War to End All Wars,” Hall said.

Few imagined that, after The World War (WWI), there would be a second World War just two decades later.

Keynote speaker Retired Col. Dr. Rolf Knoll said that to be a veteran today is quite different than when he served during the Vietnam era.

Knoll said that when he was on active duty, the Army forbade its soldiers to travel in uniform, lest they “suffered any public abuse.”

“It was a very difficult time for veterans as they returned from the horrors of a very difficult and very tragic war,” Knoll said.

Knoll said that his son, a Conard High graduate, joined the armed forces after attending college on an ROTC scholarship.

Last summer, when his son Mark returned home for a week’s leave from a tour in Afghanistan, people in the waiting area at Bradley International Airport gave Mark a standing ovation as the family ran to him down the ramp.

“Times have certainly changed since 9/11,” Knoll said. “It seems Americans appreciate the sacrifice of soldiers and their families even more than they have in the past.”

Knoll said that his son decided to serve his country for a familiar reason.

“He said, ‘I’m so lucky to have grown up in this country in West Hartford, I feel the need to give back before I get on with my life,’” he said. “Then he looked at me and said, ‘You and your soldiers are like a band of brothers. You are so close, you would do anything for each other. I’d like to experience that.”

But all veterans, Knoll said, have one thing in common.

“They all heeded the call to duty, they left the safe confines of their home to serve their country and preserve our freedom,” Knoll said. “Today is the day that we especially remember those veterans who gave the ultimate sacrifice in the service of their country.”