Honoring those who served

World War II veteran Hazel May Smith is honored at a Veterans Day ceremony in Port Isabel. (Pamela Cody | Courtesy Photo)

World War II veteran Hazel May Smith is honored at a Veterans Day ceremony in Port Isabel. (Pamela Cody | Courtesy Photo)

By PAMELA CODY
Special to the PRESS

Veterans and their families and friends gathered on a blustery morning in Veteran’s Park in Port Isabel Wednesday morning to honor all military members past and present and pay tribute to their service.

Flags whipped in the wind as Robert Vela, former commander of local VFW Post 8791 and American Legion Post 498, started off the ceremony with a moving speech, and spoke of the sacrifices our service members have made. “They were ordinary people who served in extraordinary ways. Thank you for answering the call of duty, and also to their families – we know you have carried a difficult load.” Connie Thomas, President of the Post 498 Auxiliary, paid tribute to the many prisoners of war and those declared ‘missing in action,’ via a table set for five which represented those missing from the ranks.

Also in attendance were Port Isabel Mayor Joe E. Vega, State Rep. René Oliveira, and Judge Bennie   Ochoa, who all addressed the crowd. Mayor Vega mentioned, “Not only do we have vets from the Laguna Madre area here today, but also from other parts of the country. I want to thank our local American Legion and VFW for all their hard work and being very active in our community.”

Want the whole story? Pick up a copy of the Port Isabel-South Padre Press, or subscribe to our E-Edition by clicking here.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2015/11/13/honoring-those-who-served/

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

 

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.