Also in this edition: Government calendar for November 13 – 17.
Editor’s Note: One final word about Veterans Day from David Kerr on the unknown veterans among us. Though Friday was the day the government recognized Veterans Day, it official is today – 11/11. It corresponds with the Armistice that ended World War I on the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month. The accompanying photo reflects the classic World War I poem, ‘In Flander’s Fields.’
by David S. Kerr
GUEST COLUMNIST
Appearances, as the saying goes, can be deceiving. I found this out one Remembrance Sunday, the British equivalent of our Veterans Day, many years ago.
When I was a student at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, I went to a church near where I lived. It was called Hope Park/Buccleuch Methodist Church on George IV Bridge Street. It was a beautiful old Victorian church just off Edinburgh’s famous Royal Mile.
The congregation was welcoming, and the minister, the Rev. McPherson, was friendly and, as I found, had an excellent ability to connect with young people. He was an older man, and over the years had clearly taken in his share of pastries, pies, and a host of other treats that he readily admitted he couldn’t resist.
He wore his clerical collar as a man of God should, but it did fit a little snugly. And the one thing I couldn’t have imagined, in my inexperienced view of the world, was that this happy, jovial, Scottish minister had once been a soldier. Even more than that, he was an undisputed hero.
In Britain, the Sunday nearest the 11th of November, Armistice Day, in the United Kingdom, is for many churches “Remembrance Sunday.” Church services are often focused on remembering not only those who died in defense of the nation’s freedom but also on the surviving veterans. Those who served. In that regard, it is much like our Veterans Day and it’s not uncommon for veterans to wear their service medals to church.
It was on a Remembrance Sunday after services when talking to the Rev. McPherson, as he was delighting in a cup of tea and a very large chocolate croissant, that I asked him about the medal he was wearing around his neck. It was on a ribbon. The thought of this somewhat hefty good-natured man having been a soldier surprised me. Reverend McPherson didn’t have what the armed services call a “military bearing” and that’s why I wasn’t prepared for his answer.
He smiled at my somewhat brash question, fingered the medal for a moment and then quietly said, “This is the Victoria Cross, David.”
I don’t quite recall what I said after that. Perhaps not much, because though my knowledge of British medals for valor was limited, I knew what the Victoria Cross was. It’s much like our Congressional Medal of Honor and is given only for the most remarkable deeds of heroism. What’s more, just like our Medal of Honor, many of those who receive it, do so posthumously.
I found out later that McPherson received his medal for his heroism in North Africa in 1941. I don’t know the precise details, but I was told later that it involved his almost single handedly clearing a German position, one that was raking British troops with machine gun fire.
I don’t know if he was wounded, but he probably was. And like many veterans, particularly the British, he didn’t talk about his combat service. But he did wear his medal that one Sunday and it changed my view of what a veteran was ever after.
Namely, that those who serve their country, whether doing heroic deeds or just the often-unglamorous things that needed doing in defending our nation, can be anybody.
Appearances, as they were in the case of Rev. McPherson, can be deceiving. A veteran can be an elderly man or woman in a nursing home. Your child’s teacher. Perhaps a granddad, a father, mother, uncle, brother, or a sister. Your mechanic, your bank manager, a coworker, and the list goes on.
But they all have one thing in common and that is that for some period of their life they served their country in the armed forces. They will often say, and it’s a common quote among veterans, that they were just “doing their jobs.” Fair enough. But whether they choose to frame their service in these words or not, they were doing their part to protect us and our way of life.
This Veterans Day, and indeed every day, they deserve our thanks.
Government Meetings – November 13 – 17
Fredericksburg
Monday, November 13 – City Council Meeting – Work session is 5:30 – 7:00, Regular meeting is 7:30 – 9:30. Read the Agenda.
Spotsylvania County
Tuesday, November 14 – Board of Supervisor’s Meeting – 4:30. Agenda
Monday, November 13 – School Board Meeting – 5:30. Agenda
Stafford County
Monday, November 13 – Joint Board of Supervisors and School Board meeting – 3:30 pm. Agenda (Not published at press time)
Tuesday, November 14 – Board of Supervisors Meeting – Work session is at 4:00, Regular Session is at 7:00. Agenda
Tuesday, November 14 – School Board Meeting – Work session is at 5:00; Regular meeting is at 7:00. Agenda
Odds & Ends at FXBGAdvance.com
Send your questions, thoughts or story ideas to [email protected].
To view local obituaries or to send a message to family and loved ones, please visit our website by clicking on the link below:
Support Local Journalism
The FXBG Advance is off and running, but we can’t do this without your help. You can support local journalism here in Fredericksburg by donating $8 a month. Your dollars will go toward hiring journalists so that we can broaden our reach and strengthen our coverage.
The content is now, and will continue to be, free.
Help us bring aboard the journalists who will elevate our coverage and strengthen the community we all share.
Consider joining for $8 monthly, $80 yearly, or becoming a supporting member for $200 or a Founding Member for $500.
Thank you for reading and supporting FXBG Advance.
-Martin Davis, Editor