Middlesex honors veterans

Saluda ceremony speaker: Vets make huge difference

by Tom Chillemi – 

The bell of the All Saints Anglican Church in Saluda rang  21 times at 11 a.m. to begin the Nov. 11 Veterans Day celebration at the Middlesex County Historic Courthouse in Saluda.

The solemn tolling of the bell was done to honor the 100th anniversary of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery.

As many did across America last week, those attending the ceremony in the Middlesex courtyard paused to reflect on the service of the women and men of the military that keeps the country strong. Wreaths were laid at a monument to all veterans that was dedicated exactly 30 years ago on Veterans Day 1991. The inscription reads, “To them we owe our freedom.”

Keynote speaker Col. Jeff Johnson (U.S.A.F. retired) told the audience that every member of the military plays a vital role. “It matters not what the specific job or duty title is, each individual truly matters and can make a huge difference.”

Col. Johnson explained that when he began his military career in 1980, the Soviet Union was a great threat to the United States. Col. Johnson and his wife Leslie were standing in the crowd in Berlin when President Ronald Reagan made his famous speech and said, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.”

Just three years later, Col. Johnson helped set up a joint Russia-U.S. peacekeeping exercise inside Russia.

“That’s impossible”