Vets coalition should get patriotic priority

By A TIMES EDITORIAL
Published October 23, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT [Times (2000)] Color guards from 15 service organizations present the colors for Veterans Day in 2000 at Veterans Memorial Park. The Veterans Roundtable wants to be granted priority for its special events on Veterans Day, Memorial Day and POW/MIA Day.

The park bears their name, so it is not unreasonable for veterans to ask for a little special consideration when they gather for special events. And the Hernando County Commission should be eager to grant that request today as a coalition of veterans' organizations appeals for its help.

Members of the Veterans Roundtable, which is an umbrella group of all veterans groups in the county, is asking the commission to ensure that events they have planned for Veterans Memorial Park in Spring Hill are given priority on Veterans Day, Memorial Day and POW/MIA Day. In addition, the veterans are asking that the commission set aside an area in the park where they can place plaques, benches and other memorials to honor the accomplishments and memories of their members.

The idea makes so much sense it is a wonder it has not been proposed since the park, located at the corner of Spring Hill and Glenridge drives, opened in 1993. This is a great way to consolidate the ceremonies on those veteran-specific holidays, rather than trying to coordinate the timing and logistics of attending several throughout the county. It also should increase the impact of those somber services, which are as necessary and relevant today as ever.

And setting aside a special place in the 21-acre park for visitors to offer their remembrances is much more than a convenience; it also is a suitable acknowledgment of the sacrifices of those who have gone before them.

The only anticipated cost to the public will be time the Parks and Recreation Department staff will spend cleaning up after an event on those three veterans' holidays, as well as routine landscaping of the designated memorial area. The commission should be pleased to make that perpetual commitment on behalf of all taxpayers in the county.

[Last modified October 22, 2007, 20:39:19]