Next Thursday, we celebrate Veterans Day, originally a public holiday the marked the end of World War I on Nov. 11, 1918, and originally named Armistice Day. In 1954, Congress passed the bill that President Eisenhower signed pro claiming each Nov. 11 as Veterans Day to honor all military veterans who have served in United States Armed Forces.

For those families with veterans of various wars in their families, they know that many of them do not speak of the memories of war. They keep them inside, buried deep to keep their families protected from those memories and also to not have to relive them and be queried with regards to things that had to be done.

You will see them around your town, maybe see a tattoo, a hat, a shirt or a bumper sticker proudly displaying their service. They are proud of their time served and proud to have been part of a select group in protecting the freedoms America provides to its citizens.

If you have ever had the opportunity to sit at the same table with men and women who served and fought at battles such Iwo Jima, Guadalcanal, Pearl Harbor, Chosin Reservoir, Tet Offensive, Hue City, Battle of Fallujah, and the Battle of Wanat. I have been blessed to have had that opportunity, it is humbling.

Every one of these veterans are not what your minds image would be of those who have fought in some of the fiercest battles of the wars they were in. They are your average citizen sharing and working in the communities we live in.

Alameda holds a rich military history with the presences of Naval Air Station Alameda, and US Coast Guard, Alameda. We’ll write more about the history of these bases in the future. But as you can see we have been a military town for many years.

This Veterans Day, the Veteran Groups of Alameda are collaborating with the Alameda High School America provides to its citizens .Band — led by Band Teacher Mitchell White — to put on a Veterans Day concert and celebration. This event will be held at Veterans Memorial Building located at 2203 Central Ave. on the northeast corner of Central and Walnut. The event will have Sal Castaneda of Channel 2 as the master of ceremonies and keynote speaker will be Capt. Jaqueline Leveritch, Commanding Officer of US Coast Guard Base Alameda.

The Alameda High School Band will play a number of songs including a medley of Armed Forces songs. We will start at 10:30 a.m. and end approximately at noon. We look forward to seeing you there.

We would also encourage Veterans to join our local Veterans Group at the Alameda Veterans Memorial Building. The presently housed organizations available for you to join in Alameda are Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 400, American Legion Post 9 and American Legion Post 647.