Today, let's do our best to honor our veterans

Today is Veterans Day.  

We hope that means a great deal to you, just as it does to us, and should to all Americans.  

We're not telling you anything you don't know when we say veterans represent the very best of our country. They served so we can continue to enjoy the freedoms we have today, the freedoms that give us the right to vote as we wanted on Election Day. As they say, the price of that freedom was and is not cheap. It costs lives. Sometimes, that is easy to discount when we don't know the very men and women who gave all for their country. Paying our respects, saying thank you, is the least we can do. 

There are many events today to honor veterans. They will be at schools, in parks and at veterans' homes. There will be salutes and speeches and moments of silence. Flags will flutter and if we're lucky, the sun will shine and perhaps a military plane will conduct a flyover. We're glad to see our young generation being taught to honor those who served in the military. 

Veterans hold these ceremonies close to their hearts. They are not casual gatherings. It would mean the world to them if you were there, if hundreds showed up to show their respect and pay tribute to these brave men and women. It is the least we can do. 

Here are a few 11 a.m. Veterans Day ceremonies today:  

• Veterans Memorial Plaza, McEuen Park, Coeur d'Alene;   

• Hayden City Hall, 8930 N. Government Way, Hayden.  

• Silver Valley Veterans Memorial, Railroad and Station Avenues, Kellogg.  

If you can't make it to any of these, there are others: 

Tonight, a veterans dinner is scheduled from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at VFW Hall, 32119 Fifth Ave., Spirit Lake. 

On Saturday, from noon to 3:30 p.m. at Athol Community Center, veterans of all ages and their families will be treated to a free, fun day with food and games. 

And on Sunday, there is a Bowling for Veterans fundraiser tournament at Sunset Bowling Center. 

So, opportunities are many to give our veterans the honors they so well deserve.

Kootenai County is known as a place that treasures its veterans. Let's leave no doubt about that today.  

And to our veterans, we thank you and salute you. 

"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty." — John F. Kennedy.