Veterans: What are we fighting for?

Minneota Boys’ Stater David Rabaey asked a rhetorical question.
“What does Boys’ State have to do with Veteran’s Day?” he wondered. When asked to speak at Veteran’s Day, he didn’t know the answer to that question.
But as he pondered, he discovered that, “In order to truly appreciate the veterans we know, we must appreciate what they fought for,” he said.
Most people would say they fought for our country.
Rabaey disagreed, saying that, “They were fighting to protect a democratic government. The best way to truly appreciate their service is to fully understand the value of American Representative democracy.
He added, “I took my first steps toward that understanding at Boys State. Knowledge of how government works leads you directly to those with the responsibility of preserving it — the veteran.”
Speaker Byron Higgin spoke to much the same cause — namely appreciating and honoring those who stood in the way of those who tried to take away our form of freedom.
He called on young and old alike to remember not just those veterans seen around us, but the forgotten POW’s and MIA’s (Prisoners of War and Missing In Action) that totals nearly 88,000 since World War II. With the help of Minneota American Legion Commander Jim Fink, Higgin pressed home the question of remembrance by using the Legion’s Creed, “Table Set For One.”
“The POW/MIA flag is a powerful reminder of the remains of the GI’s unaccounted for,” he said.

“It’s easy to think about and honor those veterans you see in front of you. But these men (POW’s and MIA’s) also paid the price for your freedom. And they are NEVER coming home,” said Higgin.
The “Table Set For One,” is a familiar passage read many times by Higgin at Veterans and Memorial Day services.
“I didn’t think the young people here today have heard it before,”he said.
He described the various symbols on the table, and as he did, American Legion Commander Jim Fink brought those items to the table.
They include;
•The small table: Symbolizing one prisoner against his suppressors.
•White tablecloth: Purity of the soldiers intentions to help his country.
•Red Rose: For the blood they sacrificed.
•Black and White  POW/MIA flag: Reminder of the captives and lost.
•Red ribbon: Red Ribbon lapels worn by thousands in memory.
•Slice of lemon on plate: “Reminds us of their bitter fate.”
•Salt sprinkled on plate: Like the countless tears set by their families.
•Inverted glass: They cannot toast us.
•Empty chair: They are not here.
•Lite candle: Reminiscent of the Light of Hope which lives in our hearts to illuminate their way home.
•The folded flag: Symbol of the country they fought for.