2008 Woodie Awards
A time to honor veterans past and present
Maria Miller
Issue date: 11/18/08 Section: News
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Veteran's Day is a holiday that hits home for a lot of people who have had loved ones serve in a war. Family members of fallen soldiers gathered in the streets, some with tears in their eyes and others wearing the bravest smiles they could muster.
"Veterans of every era have fought and died for our freedom and security of our daily lives. They are everything that I wanted to be growing up," Jeffery Price, Ottawa firefighter and paramedic, said.
Veteran's Day is also referred to as Remembrance Day, which celebrates the end of the first World War.
Ottawa not only salutes veterans during the parade, but gives men and women like Frank Mance, a World War II veteran, an opportunity to look back over 60 years at the events that made him the man he is.
At 18, Mance joined the Navy and left behind friends, family and the love of his life.
"I'm proud to have served my country. Being on a boat that's being shot at is pretty scary. I remember the look on a kamikaze pilot as he hit our ship. There were men who jumped off and it was at least a 50-foot drop. They were court marshaled for abandonment, for leaving the boat even though it was being attacked. I still have vivid memories of my days in the Navy and they will stay with me until I die," Mance remembered.
Mary Hubbard, who has a friend in Afghanistan, took this opportunity to think about his bravery.
"My friend Dan has been in the Middle East for four years and I worry about him every day. When he first said he wanted to enlist, I felt my heart drop to the floor. They take a risk every day to make our lives safer and I pray for him all the time. I can't wait for him to get home," Hubbard said.
The parade started at 5th and Main and ended near Forest Park, where over 600 white flags covered a section of the ballpark in remembrance of fallen soldiers.
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