Mon, 11/09/2020 - 1:15pm

Camden Hills Regional High School National Honor Society members have produced a video thanking veterans.

With COVID-19 cramping the traditions of normal times, including the annual ceremonies that honor U.S. veterans, the Camden Hills Regional High School Honor Society has come up with a different approach.

Due to COVID-19, its members are unable to host their annual Veterans Day breakfast; instead they are thanking vets with a video.

“NHS wants to thank our Veterans for their service,” the members said. “While COVID has prevented us from hosting our annual Veterans Day Breakfast, your service to our nation is forefront in our minds. Thank you!”

Students wrote:

“Veterans Day is all about honoring our heroes. Our armed forces, past and present, are filled with men and women who sacrificed the comforts we enjoy; men and women who left their homes, families, and safeties to protect the freedoms of Americans. Throughout this nation's history, millions of American soldiers have bravely answered the call to defend our rights, to fight for our freedom, and to aid our friends and allies. It takes great courage to leave behind comfort and step into the unknown, especially an unknown as dangerous as our veterans faced.

“That courage is what makes them truly admirable.

“Even though America is a country of diverse ideas and contrasting opinions, we are all able to join together on November 11 in gratitude for our veterans. We salute their service, celebrate their sacrifice, and promise that their dedication to this country will never be forgotten. I will feel privileged to put a flag and flowers by the grave of my grandfather—who served in the US Navy aboard the USS FDR to spread ideals of freedom, democracy, and equality around the world after WWII—and think everyone who served before him, with him, and after him. Some have fought in wars we know well, and others in more obscure yet still vital battles. Some have lost their friends; others have lost their lives.

“They should all be honored today.

“However, one day each year isn't enough to honor our veterans. We have to remember them every day because their sacrifices shape our everyday lives. We cannot forget what our veterans did in Normandy, Gettysburg, and so many other battles. Americans are eternally grateful to the veterans who left friends, families, and homes behind to fight for our country's honor and integrity. The price of freedom is high; we must always remember to be grateful for those willing to pay it.”