Tacoma Veterans Day ceremony honors all who served

Today is Veterans Day, a time to honor the service of people who defended the Stars and Stripes. FOX 13 photojournalist Dino De La Rosa went to Tacoma to see how veterans were honored in the Puget Sound. It is the recognition of Armistice Day, which is the end of World War I. But, unfortunately, we're going to continue to fight wars. That would be great. Veterans are a pillar of our community. I was a squad leader in Iraq, and I had a conversation with my squad, and they were 18, 19 year olds, and the conversation was that we would never ever surrender to the enemy, and that we would fight to the death, down to the last bullet. You see, the bond that we had in the heat and stink in Iraq and in combat could never ever be broken. Every year our family goes to a memorial service and a Veterans Day service because it's important for us to, I always start crying. It's important for people to know why you're free, what the flag means. The flag means your freedom and that people died for you. Does it start with all of us saying thank you? That goes a long, long way. We all know the stories of Vietnam vets who came home and they were spit upon or, you know, whatever. They weren't thanked. Deep down, veterans like to be thanked. And if you thank a veteran, you've just opened a portal for a potential conversation with that veteran. We'll be right back.