FORT SMITH, Ark. (KFSM) – Veteran’s Day is about recognizing all the men and women who are serving in the armed forces or have in the past and that’s what they did Monday (Nov. 11) at the National Cemetery in Fort Smith.
Carder Ferguson is with the Military Order of the Purple Heart and served in the Arkansas National Guard serving in Iraq.
“The Veterans gave us the freedom for us to have what we have today and that is something that’s so important because a lot of people don’t understand that your freedom to be who you are today,” Ferguson said.
Chairman of the Avenue of Flags Committee at the Fort Smith National Cemetery, Richard McKinney says as generations continue they have a tendency to forget the past and in the River Valley there are a lot of people who have been or are in the military.
“Guard and reserve units and then active duty that have moved through and it’s just always important that we keep this brought up to the forefront, so that they can remember that there are people out there while we are here today that are out sacrificing their lives for our freedom,”
McKinney says while most Veteran’s Day celebrations are not in cemeteries, he believes it’s important to have it there.
“Normally you think about Memorial Day ceremonies being here at the cemetery, but we’re surrounded here by our brothers and sisters that have gone on before us, so this is our opportunity to include all of them in our ceremony here,” McKinney said.