Local groups honor Veterans Day at Veterans Memorial Place ceremony

Holly Marie Moore, The Free Press, Mankato, Minn.
·2 min read

Nov. 12—For veterans like James Mason, whose family has a long history of service, events like Friday's Veterans Day ceremony at Veterans Memorial Place are important for the comradery.

"We all get together and we tell our war stories. It's just good to get together," he said.

Mason first went into the Marine Corps in 1964. He would serve in Vietnam for two tours before later going into the Army, Army Reserve and eventually the Marine Corps Reserve, where he retired from.

For him, service is a family tradition, and Veterans Day is a chance to remember those who served before him.

"Usually I'm in Texas, because my brother, him and I both were in Vietnam for two tours. We always celebrate it. We lost a cousin in Vietnam, so we always go out and have a drink on him, which I will do today. My two sons are in the military. I'm from a military family, so it means a lot to me, because all my uncles and all of us are veterans. My ninth great granddaddy was in the Revolutionary War and my great granddad was in the Civil War, so we go way back. It's a long tradition."

Mason, along with several other veterans and members of groups like American Legion Posts 11 and 518, VFW Mankato Post 950, the Marine Corps League and more braced chilly temperatures Friday to gather at Veterans Memorial Place to honor their own.

While Memorial Day remembers those who died in service, Veterans Day celebrates all who served.

Attendees heard from speakers before witnessing a 21-gun salute.

Veteran and speaker Mark Conrad, who served in the Minnesota Army National Guard, said one memory from his deployment that speaks to why the holiday is important is all the veterans he's worked with.

"Whether you were in the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, we all made a contract to defend the nation. It's a brotherhood of all those services," he said. "It's just a day of honoring all veterans for what they've done over the many years.

Veteran Jodi Sheely, who served eight years in the Army Reserve and was part of the 114th Combat Support Hospital out of Fort Snelling, said ceremonies like Friday's are special.

"I think it's special, because we need to remember those who sacrificed for our freedom and those who gave the ultimate price for our freedom, so we can live to be free."