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Sunday, July 3, 2005
Salute to Iraq War vets kicks off Freedom Fest weekend
By JOE CREWS | News-Journal Staff Writer
ORANGE CITY — West Volusia residents didn’t let Saturday’s threatening skies cloud their appreciation for veterans of past and present wars in Iraq.
But the storms held off, and the 80 or so people in attendance used the temporary pavilions for shade, not shelter from the rain, as they helped Orange City kick off a weekend of activities to mark America’s 229th birthday.
Herbert Hill, a Deltona resident and a veteran of the Persian Gulf War, said the turnout shows people really care about veterans.
“Not just the military people over there (in Iraq), but the veterans, too. The veterans are not forgotten,” Hill said. “You wouldn’t believe the number of people who really care about our military troops.”
Hill said he’s constantly being reminded of that when he wears hats indicating his military service.
“People are always stopping me and thanking me,” he said.
Saturday, they were thanking a lot of people like Hill at the city-sponsored salute to veterans, many of whom are family members of city employees.
State Sen. Carey Baker, who served more than a year in Iraq as part of the 124th Infantry Regiment of the Florida National Guard, was the keynote speaker.
“It’s very important (to remember the troops),” Baker said later. “The ideas of this country — the belief in freedom — ought to be protected. Those men and women in uniform protect those freedoms. . . . We need to recognize their sacrifice and what it means to this nation.”
David Bridgeman’s 24-year-old son, also named David, is serving in Iraq in the same military unit the elder Bridgeman’s father served in years earlier.
“(Saturday’s event) is an incredible gesture, just a great outreach from the city of Orange City,” Bridgeman said.
To honor Bridgeman’s father and son, Mayor Ted Erwin and several City Council members “bought” bricks in the city’s memorial to veterans at City Hall, Bridgeman said.
Ron Huth, a member of the six-person honor guard from the Deltona Fire/Rescue Department that presented the colors Saturday, said it was important to remember what the military troops are doing overseas.
“Oh, absolutely,” Huth said. “We salute our brothers and sisters that are over there, definitely.”