Brownsville veterans from all branches of the U.S. armed services, and the public, turned out Thursday for the annual Veterans Day march along Central Boulevard to Brownsville Veterans Park.
Traffic enforcement officer and motorcycle patrolman Jaime Garcia of the Brownsville Police Department helped escort the marchers down Central past Price Road and into the park that recognizes the service of all Brownsville veterans.
“I’m just glad they’re recognizing our veterans, especially our Vietnam veterans who got slapped back so unfairly after the war,” Garcia, a Vietnam-era veteran, said.
Garcia served five years in the U.S. Marine Corps as a military policeman and said, “it was probably the best time of my life, I got to see the world, how things work. … I’ve come to appreciate what we have here in this country.”
Rolando Barron Jr., who served from 2013-2016 as an Army medic in the 10th Mountain Division out of Fort Drum, New York, said this was his first Veteran’s Day march though he previously participated in a 9-11 observance.
Barron was among a contingent that numbered between 50-100 and departed the H-E-B parking lot on Central Boulevard heading toward Veterans Park.
Nearby was Cecilia Castillo, who said she comes from a military family, her father, grandfather, uncle and daughter all having served. She said she was honoring their service and had planned to serve herself but got married instead. Now her son, Abel Martinez Jr., is fulfilling her aspirations, serving in the U.S. Air Force out of Fort Sam Houston.
A group representing Veteran Females United, which in 2015 oversaw installation of the female veteran statue at Veterans Park, also marched Thursday morning. The group included VFU president Angela Burton, a U.S. Army Reserves veteran of Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm and district director of the U.S. Small Business Administration in Brownsville; Nora Bard, U.S. Navy retired, and Blanca Martinez, who served in the Navy and Army National Guard from 1999-2010, coming home in 2004.
Bertha La Boy, who served in the Air Force from 1993-1995, said she participated in the march to “remember past, present and future veterans and soldiers. We need to recognize what they do for our country,” she said.
Manuel Mares, a four-year Air Force veteran who served at Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand, marched with his wife Rachel.
The group left H-E-B about 10 a.m. and got to Veterans Park before 11. By 9 a.m., the Brownsville Fire Department had positioned the department’s 105-foot ladder truck between the Brownsville Public Library entrance and Veterans Park, hoisting a giant U.S. flag atop the ladder to add impact to the celebration scheduled to start a few hours later.
During the ceremony, Justice of the Peace Pct.2, Place 2 Jonathan Gracia, Brownsville Mayor Trey Mendez and Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino spoke.
Mendez urged attendees to honor veterans every day, not just on Veterans Day, because the veterans served their country every day, not just one day.
Trevino said words are never sufficient to thank veterans for the countless hours of service they have given to their country and communities.
“We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the dedication and commitment of our veterans,” Trevino said. “Even in troubled times, where we maybe can’t agree on everything, there’s one thing we need to do each and every day that we can all agree on, and that is that we’re all Americans. Give thanks to good God almighty that we still live in the greatest country in the entire world,” he said.
Trevino added that there’s one thing Americans can do consistently that costs nothing, “and that is to be the American that’s worth fighting for.”
