‘Engagement at the human level:’ Goose Creek celebrating their veterans beyond the uniform

GOOSE CREEK, S.C. (WCSC) — As veterans are celebrated throughout the Lowcountry on Wednesday, the City of Goose Creek held its own ceremony, honoring those who have served in uniform.

Dozens of veterans and their family members gathered at the John McCants Veterans Park for a day of celebration and acknowledgment.

Goose Creek Mayor Greg Habib spoke to the veterans who make up the city, with keynote speaker retired Air Force Reserve Maj. Gen. Richard Kemble

In his speech, Kemble distinguished between Veterans Day — a day to celebrate — and Memorial Day — a day to remember those who lost their lives

He said the depth of their gratitude extends far beyond today as a single day of recognition, and it should continue on through daily conversations. The celebration of veterans is not bound to 24 hours.

“For over 250 years, men and women have fought and died so that others may be free. Our sacrifices transcend generations. Children grow up in safety because you stood guard. Communities thrive because you defended them. Businesses operate freely because you protected our way of life,” Kemble said.

He, along with others, said it should continue on through daily conversations.

“Engagement at the human level, like what you did. Oftentimes what they did in the military is what that person is doing in their civilian capacity. They get to speak a little bit longer and have an actual dialogue and an engagement on a human level,” Kemble said.

Kemble said to thank a veteran is to open a door to a conversation to learn who is behind the uniform. Every veteran has a story, and every veteran has a reason for their sacrifice.

Retired United States Coast Guard veteran Gene Sparks said it simply.

“I’m just a country boy from Alabama,” Sparks said.

Sparks said during his service, he served on a South Pole mission.

“We were at sea nine months, and that is a long time. You’re like an animal when you get it back home, but we were breaking ice up to 12 feet thick,” he added.

Kemble talked about his experience as a now-retired pilot, who served for 35 and a half years.

“I’ve been shot at by rockets, missiles, and fired at by small arms, but that’s nothing, absolutely nothing, compared to watching my friend fly another plane into another plane at 26,000 feet right in front of me over Montana,” Kemble said.

The hardships and trauma veterans experience, though different in different fields, bond one another, according to Marine Corps veteran Helen Breen.

“At the end of the day we were all willing to sign our name on the line, and we were all willing to do what needed to be done to protect our country,” Breen said. “From those who we still have that served in World War II all the way up to the current conflicts that we’re dealing with, and to see them all and have a chance to say thank you to them as well because, you know, we’re all brothers and sisters in arms.”

Breen said Veterans Day is a chance for them to thank one another as well.

All branches of the military were represented at Wednesday’s ceremony co-hosted by American Legion Post 166.