St. John Parish celebrates Veterans with luncheon
Published 12:06 am Saturday, July 2, 2016
- John ‘Sully’ Sullivan waves his flag Thursday. He has been attending the luncheon for five years to show support of his fellow Veterans. Over the years Sullivan said attendance has grown tremendously.
John “Sully” Sullivan said he has been attending the St. John the Baptist Parish annual Veterans Luncheon for five years.
Residents from the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Home were among the attendees Thursday. Residents are, from left, sitting, Paul Girard, Earl Brown, George Jones and Harold Iles. Pictured standing, from left, are Recreational therapist Sonya Herbert, Rudy Baker and Karen Kugler.
Sullivan, who served in Vietnam as a Marine, comes back every year to support his fellow Veterans.
“I think a luncheon like this means a lot to the Veterans that attend,” he said. “We need to have more things like this for Veterans. Without Veterans, we wouldn’t be here. The ones that came before me, the ones in World War I and II, deserve this.”
Veterans from all over the parish attended the 11th Annual Luncheon Thursday at Regala Gym. Those in attendance enjoyed patriotic music, lunch, a special video tribute with photos submitted by the community and more.
Sullivan, with the Combat Vets Association, said the jobs that people have, the homes they live in and lives they live are theirs because of Veterans.
“For those Veterans that couldn’t be here, they made the ultimate sacrifice,” Sullivan said. “Over the years the event has grown tremendously. It’s always nice to see other Veterans and all of the new faces that come.”
Sullivan said he also attends the luncheon each year to hear the guest speaker, adding he was happy this year’s speaker was Gov. John Bel Edwards.
“I commend him for coming over here; a lot of governors wouldn’t have done that,” Sullivan said. “Him being a Veteran, himself, I think is great.”
Edwards, who was elected Nov. 15, graduated in 1988 from the United States Military Academy at West Point. He served eight years as an Airborne Ranger on active duty with the United States Army and commanded a rifle company in the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C.
Edwards said he was honored to attend and “celebrate the anniversary of our nation’s independence and the men and women who protected our freedom for 240 years.”
“If you’re like me, it doesn’t seem like 40 years ago we celebrated our bicentennial,” he said.
“I know most of the young people don’t remember 1976, but I do. I was only 10. As we all know, the Fourth of July is about much more than simply good food, shooting fireworks and that sort of thing. Quite often we forget the special weight of that day.”
Edwards said we might not always fully comprehend what we are celebrating, why we are celebrating or who we are celebrating, adding that is the reason it’s so important to have events like the luncheon to pay special homage to Veterans.
