Toledo Free Press received a huge response to last year’s inaugural Military Yearbook and this year’s response was even more enthusiastic. The issue, published June 30, featured the names and faces of more than 100 area men and women who proudly wear the uniform of the United States military, hailing from every era and branch of service. Many have siblings, parents, children and other family members who also served.
There’s a special blend of pride, patriotism and camaraderie shared by military members and it spans the generations. I witnessed it June 26 watching veterans interact at Honor Flight of Northwest Ohio’s latest welcome home celebration. I witnessed it June 5-9 at the traveling Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Toledo. And I’ve seen it in my own family.
My grandfather, Alfred Ottney, and brother-inlaw, Alex Wolff (both pictured in last week’s yearbook) joined the Navy more than 60 years apart, yet find more common ground than I’d expect about their experiences, comparing stories every chance they get.
Military families — parents, spouses, children and significant others who go months at a time without being able to embrace, lean on or know their loved one is safe — also sacrifice.
Growing up, my grandma taught all her grandchildren the proper way to fold a flag, warning us to never let it touch the ground. My parents illuminate their flag at night or take it down each evening. They remove their hats and place their hands over their hearts during the national anthem. They attend a Memorial Day service every year and linger afterward at gravesites, willing to sacrifice a few hours to pay their respects. I’m thankful now I was raised with that kind of reverence and attitude of gratitude toward those who serve.
Shortly after Memorial Day, a letter to the editor came across my desk. Vietnam veteran Daniel Cannode of Waterville was concerned that fewer and fewer members of local veterans groups seem to be honoring the annual ritual of placing flags at veteran headstones in area cemeteries.
“The current generation it appears does not deem it necessary to remember the sacrifices veterans made to keep this great republic free,” Cannode wrote. “How much longer will it be before it is ‘just another Monday holiday’?”
I can’t speak for veterans groups, but it does seem too few civilians take time out of their three-day weekend to attend a Memorial Day ceremony. Too few bother on the Fourth of July to think about the true cost of our independence. Too few ever pause to thank a veteran for his or her service. The service members highlighted in last week’s yearbook represent only a small fraction of those with ties to this area; the issue is our modest effort to thank them all, one we plan to continue for years to come.
Sarah Ottney is managing editor of Toledo Free Press and Toledo Free Press Star. Contact her via email at sottney@ toledofreepress.com.
