Department
of North Carolina
Sons of Union Veterans of
the Civil War
Department Order #8
Series 2017-2018
7 November 2017
Veterans Day 2017
Section 1: Saturday, 11 November 2017, is Veterans
Day. According to the Department of
Veterans Affairs, Veterans Day is “a celebration to honor America’s veterans
for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice
for the common good. The Department of
North Carolina is very fortunate to have a history of strong veteran
participation among its membership.
Section 2: Brothers,
some of you serve or served as career military men, and some of you served as
citizen soldiers. No matter how we
served our country, we all made sacrifices, as did our families, and as did our
Civil War ancestors whose service and sacrifices are not forgotten.
Section 3: What
is a veteran? The following quote
(author unknown) says “A veteran is someone, who at one point in their life
wrote a blank check payable to the United States of America for an amount up to
and including their life. That is an
honor, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer remember
that fact.” Another unknown author said
“In war there are no unwounded soldiers.”
Section 4: Brothers,
you and your families should all be proud of your military service, and the
sacrifices that you have all made. I
also believe our Civil War ancestors would all be proud of our veteran status,
as they were all very proud of theirs. To
the Brothers of our Order that are active military or veterans, and to all veterans,
Thank you all for your service!
Section 5: All
Brothers and Camps of the Department of North Carolina are encouraged to participate
in Veterans Day observances in their local communities. One of the “Purpose & Objects” of our
order is to “cooperate in doing honor to all who have patriotically served our
country in any war.” I call on you all
to fly your flag from your house, attend a local ceremony, or visit a war
memorial or cemetery. If nothing else,
thank a veteran for his or her service--many veterans have never heard the
words "thank you."
Section 6:
The following quote is from former senator, governor and veteran Zell
Miller:
“For
it has been said so truthfully that it is the soldier, not the reporter, who
has given us the freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has
given us freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the agitator, who has given
us the freedom to protest. It is the soldier who salutes the flag, serves
beneath the flag, whose coffin is draped by the flag, who gives that protester
the freedom to abuse and burn that flag.”
Section 7:
For this Veterans Day, I would like to give special recognition to one
of our Department of NC veterans--Brother Max Speers, Department Color Bearer
and Past Camp Commander of the MG Thomas H. Ruger Camp #1. Brother Max is the recipient of the US Army Distinguished
Service Cross, an award second only to the Congressional Medal of Honor. Max was awarded the DSC “For extraordinary
heroism in connection with military operations involving conflict with an armed
hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam.
Sergeant Speers distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous actions
on 21 November, 1966 while serving as Special Forces advisor to an irregular
Vietnamese force during a search and destroy mission near Ben Soi.” Max Speers
is also a Life
Member of the Legion of Valor of
the USA. We thank Brother Max Speers for his exceptional service to
our country.
So Ordered this
7th Day of November, 2017
Yours in
Fraternity, Charity and Loyalty,
Dennis C.
St. Andrew, PDC
Commander,
Department of North Carolina
Sons of Union
Veterans of the Civil War
Attest: Bryan
Salter, Department Secretary
