ESCANABA, Mich. (WZMQ) – On Tuesday, the Delta County Veterans Council honored those who have served with a special ceremony.
Veterans from across Delta County gathered at the Chamber of Commerce for the council’s annual Veterans Day event, held each November 11 to commemorate their service.
“Veterans Day pays tribute to all American veterans, living and dead, but especially gives thanks to the living veterans who have served their country honorably during war and peacetime,” master of ceremonies Craig Woerpel said.
It was a time to reflect on the sacrifices made by military members and their loved ones.
“The long separations from family, the strain on relationships—especially marriages—the fear of not coming home,” said keynote speaker Kendal Kettle, an Army veteran and a veteran engagement officer. “Those separations are very real, and they’re not just made by service members.”
The Veterans Council also remembered the POWs and MIAs who cannot attend events being held in their honor.
“The sweetness of enduring peace has always been tainted by the bitterness of personal sacrifice,” said Council Commander Steven Kwarciany. “We are compelled to never forget that while we enjoy our daily pleasures, there are others who have endured and may still be enduring the agonies of pain, deprivation, and internment.”
The event was also an opportunity to inform veterans of services available to them locally through organizations like the Escanaba Vet Center.
“Maybe you’re still trying to navigate benefits or trying to figure out how to access healthcare,” Kettle said. “Fortunately, here in the U.P., we have a strong network of veteran organizations and community members who are committed to helping veterans connect to the benefits they’ve earned.”
Special tributes included a drum circle by students in the Escanaba Schools Indian Education Program and a poem written by a local veteran.
“God bless the men and women who served to keep our country free,” Navy veteran Lawrence A. Jerue read from his poem. “Keep doing what you’re doing, because freedom is not free. May God bless America, the land of the free.”
The ceremony concluded with a 21-gun salute and the playing of ‘Taps’—a reminder of that high price of America’s freedom.
