MANSFIELD — Veterans Day is not for veterans alone.
“When we served our country, we did not serve to fulfill personal interests,” retired Air Force MSgt. Kari Pfeifer said Monday.
“We serve the national interest of the United States of America, and that’s why this day isn’t just for us veterans alone. It’s a day for the entire country to celebrate its freedom and honor this Veterans Day observance,” said Pfeifer, the VFW Department of Ohio commander.
Pfeifer delivered the keynote address during a Veterans Day ceremony at the Gazebo in Central Park that immediately followed the annual parade through downtown Mansfield, sponsored by the Richland County Joint Veterans Council.
Pfeifer, a Crestline resident who served 21 years with the Ohio Air National Guard’s 179th Airlift Wing based in Mansfield, said she admits many people stay at home on Veterans Day and simply enjoy a day off from work.
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“In a way, that’s only fitting after all, we live in a free country, but that’s what makes your presence here even more meaningful because you appreciate our American way of life,” she said.
“You understand the commitment of democratic government and you know that the freedom we enjoy today is not free. The true cost of freedom is a price most can’t even fathom.
“But it’s a price that will be paid,” Pfeifer said, “as long as brave men and women choose freedom over evil and tyranny.”
The ceremony at the Gazebo was led by Bruce Phipps, the commander of the Richland County Join Veterans Council.
It included the National Anthem sung by John Darby, a salute to honored dead by the Richland County Joint Veterans Burial Squad, and a wreath laying by the Jared Mansfield Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
The parade included marching bands from Mansfield Senior and Clear Fork High Schools, as well as the Mansfield police and fire departments, the Richland County Sheriff’s Office and the Mansfield Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
(Below the Richland County Joint Burial Squad salutes the honored dead on Monday in Central Park, including the playing of Taps.)
