Last Friday on Veterans Day, I had the privilege of participating in two very different but beautiful tributes to our veterans. During each of these events, I gave thought to the word “hero,” as I witnessed and participated in each of these events, and I made some observations that might surprise some of you reading this message.
The first ceremony of the day took place at Lace School here in Darien, where I joined members of the VFW Post 2838 along with the school’s 3rd, 4th and 5th graders as we listened to and honored Corporal Robert Cortez who addressed the students regarding his service, highlighting the values he developed as a member of the military. What prompted my thought regarding the word hero, was something that occurred as the VFW members entered the gym prior to posting the colors. I noticed, that as these veterans entered the room carrying our flag, that a number of students stood, put their hand to their foreheads resembling a military salute. I was touched by this action and the respect that these young people had for our veterans and our flag. While many would say that the men and women who have served our country are “heroes,” I thought of these young people, who without prompting, saluted our flag, as heroes, not for their service, but for their respect for what these veterans and our flag represented. In an age when so many categorize our youth as uncaring or uninvolved, I witnessed young people expressing their respect by simply saluting our veterans and our flag.
Later that morning, I again joined our VFW Post 2838 for their Veterans Day ceremony at the Darien Community Park. I have been invited to this event each year that I have been Mayor, and have been asked to provide a brief speech honoring our veterans. While I consider each of the individuals in Post 2838 as heroes, there was an individual sitting on a bench observing the ceremony who I consider to be a true Darien treasure. His name is Frank Pannaralla, and at age 101, he attends this ceremony every year regardless of the weather conditions. Corporal Pannaralla entered the Army in 1942 and received a Bronze Star for meritorious and heroic duty while serving in General Patton’s Third Army. Mr. Pannaralla as do the other veterans I spent time with that day knows the sacrifices that must be made in order to preserve the freedoms we now enjoy.
It is easy to say that Mr. Pannaralla and our VFW members each represent elements of what we call a “hero.” I don’t believe that is something anyone would disagree with, but I would add that in my observation of their actions, I would consider those young Lace School students as heroes for the respect they demonstrated to our veterans, to Corporal Cortez and to the members of the VFW Post 2838. I believe that as President Reagan stated, “Those who say that we're in a time when there are no heroes, they just don't know where to look.” I had a chance to observe two distinct groups, and found that heroes exist in all age groups and I was fortunate in having a chance to stand with all these heroes, young and old.
My thanks to the VFW, to Corporal Cortez, to Mr. Pannaralla and to the young men and women of Lace School, who in my mind are all heroes.