145th Airlift Wing remembers, celebrates Veterans Day

by Master Sgt. Patricia F. Moran
145th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

11/11/2014 - CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Around the country Veterans Day is celebrated to pay tribute to the men and women in the Armed Forces, both past and present who heroically served and are still serving our nation.

The word veteran may bring to mind someone who served in World War I or II, or in the Korean and Vietnam conflicts, but after the terrorist attacks of 9-11, many young men and women volunteered not just to serve their country but to serve and protect their state as well by joining the National Guard.

The National Guard are citizen-Soldiers and Airmen; volunteering to serve their country; American veterans. They come from all parts of the Nation and all walks of life. They're men, women, mothers and fathers. They're sons and daughters, sisters and brothers.

For those who serve in the North Carolina Air National Guard, these veterans could be your next door neighbor, a cashier at the grocery store, the professor at the college your daughters attend or the dentist you saw last week. One day you're saying hi to them at the mail box then they are gone, returning sometimes up to a year later, from serving on another deployment.

They are diverse and unique. They have missions serving their state and helping their communities. Whether it's responding to floods in North Carolina or to hurricanes in Florida or wildfires in California they serve proudly with no reservations.

Last week more than 90 NCANG Airmen returned home from Qatar, where they flew humanitarian supply air drops on Mount Sinjar in Iraq. They conducted several resupply airdrops to the Iraqi Security Forces and engaged in battle with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

They are proud to be part of an elite group of service members who have served honorably in response to our State and Nation's call to arms.

So on Veteran's Day as the nation pays tribute to its veteran's so do the men and women of the North Carolina Air National Guard pay tribute to their brothers and sisters in arms, past and present, honoring all for setting the example of serving our state and country helping to establish a legacy and proud tradition upon which the North Carolina Air National Guard is built.