Honor our veterans who served



By COL. JIM STONE


There are no more WWI veterans in our country. The WWII veterans are going to the big battle field in the sky at 1,500 a day. In just a few more years there will be no WWII veterans left in our country.
We need to honor these men and women now, for their sacrifices for this great country. And we need to honor the men and women who served after WWII and those serving today.
So, when you see a veteran shake their hand and tell them thanks for their service. And, don't forget to remember the 61 men listed on our monument in front of our Courthouse. They paid the supreme sacrifice by giving their lives for our country. And quoting Tom Nichols, "These were young men, they never had a chance at life. They never returned home. Most of them never got married, had children and grand children. They paid it all for us."
When you see one of the family members of these men tell them how much you
appreciate their service and their sacrifices. It is because of the brave men that we can say that we live in the greatest country on this earth.
Just a side note: This is my 23rd year conducting the Veterans Day Program at the Cannon County High School and the Veterans Day Parade. These 23 years have been a wonderful experience and a great honor for me and all of wonderful folks who have supported these events over the years. All the credit goes to brother Tom Nichols.
Brother Tom called me 23 years ago and asked if I would help honor our Veterans in Cannon County. I said that I would give it a shot. Through the years brother Tom always would laugh and say, look at all the fun we are having.
But, the amazing thing about this story is, brother Tom Nichols is not a veteran. He wanted to be one and tried to enlist but medical reasons kept him from being able to sign on. He remembered the soldiers when they were on maneuvers in the 40's, all over Middle Tennessee, and he wanted to be a soldier, like many of the young
boys. We wanted to defend this great country. Brother Tom was, and still is, a Concerned Citizen for the Veterans of Cannon County.
Because of Tom we have honored our Veterans of Cannon County and preserved our proud history and heritage.
God Bless our veterans. And God bless Tom Nichols for his leadership,
vision, and concern for honoring our veterans.
Thank you Brother Tom for your service to Cannon County.
Our Veterans Day Program at the Cannon County High School is Friday,
Nov. 13th and the Veterans Day Parade is on Saturday, Nov. 14th.
Come on out and let our Veterans know how much we appreciate them, for all of this wonderful freedom we enjoy in the greatest country in the world.