Supporting those who kept us free

Veterans Day honors those who have served our country in all generations.

This year, we took time out to speak to veterans of what some contemporary historians have called our ‘greatest generation.'

That would be the veterans of World War II, and our reporting staff set out to recapture the sacrifice of four persons from our readership area who recall the experience.

Because we are told that our country is losing 1,000 World War II veterans to death each day, we didn't want to waste a minute bending their ears for a story.

Thanks to Howard Jones, Robert Richards, Robert Roemer and Fran Turner, and countless others whose connections to this area we are still learning about to sort out what military life must've been like a couple of generations ago.

We share below some very personal stories about forging a brotherhood in the service only to have it shattered by some often unseen enemy.

We thank them and all veterans for their service to this great land.

And, we continue to pay tribute to the men and women who still put their lives in harm's way this very day around the world.

Thank you.

-Robert L. Baker, editor