Today (Saturday) is Veterans Day 2006 but a ceremony was held Friday in Creston, where Sergeant Major Brad Kasal spoke a Veterans Day program at East Union High School. Kasal’s served twenty years in the Marines but wanted to honor those who’d gone before. He thanked all the veterans of wars past and present saying “Without your duty and sacrifice, this country would not be where it is today.”
“Just like many generations in the past,” he said, “service members today are facing an unstable world with many uncertainties, yet they continue to serve and continue to make sacrifices, serving in harm’s way. The only thing these fine young men and women ask is…the chance to serve their country and make it a better place for today and future generations to come.”
Most of the people in the audience were students, and Kasal told them he was badly wounded in Iraq but would still like to get back in shape and be allowed to return. “When I say that,” he admits, “everybody always looks at me like I could be something.” But he says it’s the same reason he joined 23 years ago — he feels it’s his duty, it’s his country, and he wants to be a part of defending it and making a difference in this world. Back in civilian life, Kasal works as a recruiter in the Des Moines area.