By Marty Mayfield
KRTN Multi-Media
Veterans, family members and friends gathered Wednesday morning November 11, 2026, at Veterans Park in Raton to honor the living and those who gave their all for the freedoms that Americans have the honor to enjoy in these United States.
The Invocation was given by Friar Bill Woytavich who is also a Marine Corp Veteran. City Manager Neil Segotta gave the welcome address followed by Mayor Lori Chatterley who read the Raton City Commission Proclamation for Veteran’s Day. Kathy McQueary also thanked the veterans and invited them to the Raton Museum for eats.
Colonel Gilbert San Roman began his enlistment at the age of 17 during the Vietnam War, a very unpopular war at the time. He told the crowd that this day was originally Armistice Day in honor of the ending of World War I, The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. San Roman went on to talk about his 36 1/2 years in the service from an airman basic to a full bird Colonel noting how it has affected him. He noted that if you want to see the cost of freedom, visit a military hospital or visit a national cemetery.
He went on to talk about the many veterans he knew that had battled in the World Wars, Korea and Vietnam. Noting his siblings and other family members who served in the military. He went to speak about the men and women who still find the courage to enlist in our armed forces to continue to fight for our freedoms.
He noted that many “celebrities are considered heroes to our youth, Kevin Durant, LeBron James and Patrick Mahomes to name a few the sad thing is there is probably a real hero sitting across the table from them. Someone who sacrificed for freedom, someone who sacrificed for freedom, who knows too well the price of freedom. Aneurysm is one who should be held to celebrity status but never seeks it. Real heroes don’t wear numbers, they wear dog tags.”
The keynote speaker, dual service veteran Bill Cody Ayon spoke about Veterans Day and thanked the families who support service members because there are those that don’t have that support. He went on to speak about the people who have stepped up to join military service. There are 18 million veterans in the US today which is only 6% of the entire population. there is less than 1% serving today. Since 1973 the US has relied entirely on a volunteer force.
Ayon went on to talk about what it means to be a veteran and that is to understand what sacrifice is. Missing birthdays, a child’s first step or having a video call from 6000 miles away. Packing up a family every couple of years, uprooting kids when they just get settled and make friends. He talked about unity and how service members grow to rely on each other. How your survival can depend on the person standing to your left or right.
To carry on the mission here at home is another part of what it is like for a veteran to care for those that sacrificed. Often a veteran won’t wait to be asked they are the ones that lead the charge when something happens such as a natural disaster. Veterans step up and vote, start businesses and help lead the community they live in.
Colonel San Roman finished off with a poem called The Last Battle, a poem he wrote several years ago about the last battle a soldier could see.
Taps and a three-gun salute concluded the ceremony.
Be First to Comment