Turning out for today’s Veterans Day parade in downtown Kissimmee is a great way for Osceola County residents young and old and everyone in-between to show their appreciation for the sacrifices made by our men and women in uniform and by their families.

We need to honor our veterans, especially those who have returned recently from active duty in Iraq or Afghanistan, whether we agree or not politically that military action in those two countries was justified. We all have family members or relatives who have served in the military or who are now serving, so we all should show our support in some way.

Many of our World War II veterans have already passed away, and those that are still here need to be remembered and recognized, like Master Sgt. Herman Heil, who is riding in today’s Veterans Parade in Kissimmee in a vehicle with Osceola News-Gazette Publisher Paula Stark. Give Mr. Heil, who is 91, an enthusiastic round of applause when he passes by.

Granted, there are a number of activities going on today, including a fall festival at Babb Landing in Shingle Creek Park, Pioneer Days at the Osceola County Historical Society, an event in Celebration related to that community’s 15th anniversary and its own Veteran’s Day parade and an event at Harmony’s Spirit Farm, to name just a few. If you take in the Kissimmee Veterans Day Parade early (it starts at 10 a.m.), you can still make other events later on with a little bit of planning and hustle.

The Kissimmee parade, staged by local veterans groups, alternates between the city of Kissimmee and the city of St. Cloud as hosts. If Kissimmee residents didn’t go last year because it was in St. Cloud and “too far away” or “too hard to get to because of traffic,” there isn’t any reason not to go this year because it is in your back yard.

While honoring military personnel and their families today isn’t a civic duty – like voting, serving on a jury or being a witness in a court case  – it is something we should take the time to do, given the sacrifices made through the years. Going to a parade is easy, fighting an enemy in war is not, as is remaining at home as a family member wondering whether a loved one will come home.