25-Year Navy Veteran Gives Keynote Speech At Veterans Day Ceremony
The sun shone brightly on Memorial Lane in front of the Falmouth Public Library as about 200 residents gathered to honor the men and women who have served in the military during the town’s first in-person Veterans Day ceremony in two years.
The lawn in front of the library was filled with people. Some sat on blankets with children, some occupied chairs set up on either side of the lane, and others stood by to watch the ceremony while their dogs lounged in the sun.
The ceremony began with a procession of veterans and uniformed service people from the Village Green along Main Street, ending in front of the library. The Brian Boru Pipe Band marched with them, the sound of bagpipes in the distance alerting the waiting crowd that the ceremony was about to begin.
At about 11 AM, emcee Robert Foos, who served as a commanding officer in the US Coast Guard, addressed the crowd and welcomed everyone back for the first time in two years.
“Known around the world as Armistice Day and Remembrance Day, the 11th day of the 11th month at the 11th hour signifies the end of hostilities on the Western Front of World War I in 1918,” Mr. Foos said. “Rain or shine, heat or freezing temperatures, it’s always amazing to see how many in our community come out.”
He took a moment to honor the 100-year anniversary of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and the moment of silence was accompanied by 11 bell tolls, rung by Falmouth Veterans Services Director Don Lincoln.
After an invocation led by the Reverend Nell Fields, the Falmouth High School chorus and Eagle Scouts led the national anthem and Pledge of Allegiance, respectively.
Dr. Ronald Nasif, a former orthopedic surgeon who had a 25-year Navy career, was the keynote speaker for the event. He served as a flight surgeon during Operation Desert Storm and served a tour in Iraq as an orthopedic surgeon.
Dr. Nasif opened by telling the crowd by telling the crowd his pronouns, sharing a bit about himself, and cracking a quick joke with the audience before diving into his speech.
“Forty years ago, I was a young surgeon when I became aware that the military was in need of physicians in my specialty: orthopedics,” Dr. Nasif said. “I discussed with my father, who was a World War II veteran and voluntarily accepted a commission in the US Navy Reserve as a junior officer.”
“I can tell you it was probably the last time I volunteered for anything in the military,” he added, laughing.
Dr. Nasif went on to talk about his service, saying that throughout his military career, he was grateful each time he made it home. He noted that hundreds of thousands of other servicemen and women have not been as lucky.
“If you were to Google up the phrase national debt, you’d get something like 19 million responses and websites,” Dr. Nasif said. “But very little of it refers to the debt we have to our veterans. We can never repay our veterans, the gratitude and respect that we should have for them should last forever.”
Dr. Nasif talked about each of the six military branches, painting a historical picture of the early formation of our nation’s military in 1775 alongside the formation of the nation itself just one year later.
Dr. Nasif made a point to tell the public that the individual actions of military personnel should never be perceived as political, but rather as the dutiful carrying out of one’s job requirements.
“I ask you all: never confuse the actions of our active duty personnel with political activity,” he said. “The military enforces policy. Policies are made by the executive branch of our government… that branch of government makes policy. The military enforces it. No active-duty person or veteran should ever be held accountable and criticized for doing their job, for following their orders to the best of their ability.”
Near the end of his speech, the Navy veteran thanked all of the men and women who have served, adding that civilians should never feel dissuaded from thanking a veteran for their service out of awkwardness. Dr. Nasif even shared that his personal practice is to thank the civilian right back, saying it was an honor to serve.
“By their blood, service, and sacrifice, veterans have given us our freedom, security, and the greatest nation on Earth. It’s impossible to put a price on these things, but we must remember and appreciate our veterans.”
Dr. Nasif closed with a quote from Abraham Lincoln, taken from his second inaugural address: “With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan.”