John Dick, board member from the Monroe County School District, joined Good Morning Keys on KeysTalk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about what’s going on in our schools.
Veterans Day is important in the schools.
Dick said, “This community very strongly supports our veterans. I know at the Murray the Murray Nelson Center in Key Largo there will be a ceremony at 11 o’clock run by John Donnelly and Dennis Ward, both veterans of Vietnam. Then in Marathon, there’ll be a parade at 11 o’clock, and then a ceremony at the end of the parade back at the Legion. They’ll have food for the community also, and that’s taking place at the Marathon American Legion. Then in Key West, right at 11 o’clock, they’ll be at the cemetery performing a service, and they’ll have the Navy there, the Coast Guard, and, of course, the Legion and the VFW from down there. Then a big parade at four o’clock in Key West. I will tell you I know, on the fourth of July, the Key Largo area has a great parade, well attended by people, but I tell you, the Key West Veterans Day Parade, if not, at least matches, if not, creates a bigger crowd up and down Duvall Street, it is just loaded and it’s community coming out to support the veterans as they do, up and down, the Keys, great community and the patriotism expressed by this community, especially in the schools, the schools are ripe with patriotism up and down. So I’m very proud to be a member of the veterans organizations, and I’m proud to be a member of the school board.”
Dick served in the military for many years.
He said, “I just am proud of the service that I did, and alongside of the other fellows that we served with, we served over in Vietnam in 1967/68 and I’m proud of that. I will tell you that on a day like today, while it’s not Memorial Day, it’s Veterans Day to celebrate all of us, most of us will think of those that didn’t come back, and whether it was somebody that we served with or witnessed or just friends and family that have served in any of the wars that this country has participated in, and we think of those people because while Memorial Day is designated especially for them, the veterans always think about those people on this day also, and those are the memories that we take back, but the service we did, I’m lucky. I feel very lucky to come back and as do all of us that have served in a combat zone, if we came back, we feel lucky, but we do remember those that didn’t come back. The veterans community is not concerned with anybody’s race, creed, color, religion or political persuasion. We take care of each other.”
Veterans Day celebrates the formal ending of World War I on the 11th hour, the 11th day, the 11th month in 1918.
There is also a blood drive today from 10am to 3pm at the Murray Nelson Government Center.
Dick said, “I just wish all the veterans to have a great day today and to celebrate their homecoming and be glad that they’re here and remember those that didn’t.”