Our forgotten veterans
The American Legion is the nation's largest veteran's organization, with more than 2.7 million members.
So when American Legion National Commander Paul Morin paid a visit to Hillsboro Post #366 this past Wednesday, it was an important event.
His breakfast speech was powerful, relevant, and timely and included remarks he gave recently at a congressional hearing in Washington. When it comes to players on the American political stage, Morin is, as they say, the real deal.
But with the exception of 70th District Rep. Don Dahl, a retired Navy commander, who was asked to serve as chaplain for the event, no local dignitary or representative was there to greet him.
So when the acting post commander stood at the lectern to introduce somebody, anybody, from Hillsboro who might be there to welcome their guest to the community, the silence was deafening. For members of Post #366, it was an embarrassing moment.
We asked ourselves — are there other national figures visiting Hillsboro this morning? Or, are the affairs of local government, commerce, and education so pressing that no one can get away, or at least send a suitable substitute?
Fact is we all sometimes make mistakes. We get busy. We forget. We drop the ball. We blow it. It happens.
But when so many otherwise responsible people make the same mistake at the same time on the same day, well — no wonder our military veterans feel like they've been forgotten.
Knowing our leaders as we do, we know it wasn't intentional. Certainly there was no conspiracy to make sure nobody showd up for an important event involving the national leader of our local veterans.
That would be absurd.
If we dig deeper, I think we'll discover that, in the end, this whole faux pas was a city-wide communication breakdown. At least, we hope so.
Because any city that can welcome 50,000 people to an arts and crafts fair can make dignitaries feel at home.
After all, this is Hillsboro.
In retrospect, it might've been a good thing that we missed greeting this particular leader. As a forgotten veteran himself, he might not have given it a second thought.
We don't know when the next national figure will visit Hillsboro, but we need to be ready.
Maybe a city welcoming committee should be formed to make sure this won't happen when your group's national leader comes to town.
— GRANT OVERSTAKE
