As the nation prepares to celebrate 250 years of America, two Benton County veterans are reflecting on their years of service and the significance of this milestone.
Service and Sacrifice
U.S. veteran Chuck Noeltner and U.S. Navy veteran Jerry Tobey, both longtime members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Rogers, shared their experiences and perspectives on freedom.
"When you see those fireworks go off, as a vet, you’re looking at that and saying I did this for my country," said Noeltner. "I did it so my sons, my granddaughters did not have to serve."
"People don’t realize what freedoms we have until you actually go to another country and see what freedoms they had there," said Tobey.
Tobey’s years in active duty gave him a whole new perspective on freedom. "You start seeing what their people have," Tobey said. "They don’t have the freedom to speak; they get told what they can read. They get told what they have. We don’t."
Noeltner’s time spent fighting in Desert Storm and being activated to Kosovo, formerly Yugoslavia, makes him thankful to be an American. "I got to know people. Their culture is unbelievable for what they do with what they have," Noeltner said. "Other countries are not able to have the things we do."
Looking Ahead
Now, they’re looking ahead to the next 250 years. "You can’t change history, you’ve got to live and learn from the past so it doesn’t happen again," Tobey said.
VFW Post 3031 is inviting the public out for a special Fourth of July celebration this Saturday, featuring a full day of fireworks, food and freedom festivities.
Original reporting: 40/29 / KHBS (NW Arkansas) — read the source article.
