Talkeetna VFW post honors veterans

On Monday, VFW Post 3836 in Talkeetna recognized Veterans Day with its annual ceremony honoring those who served in the armed forces.

After the posting of the colors and an invocation, Post Commander and Air Force veteran Heidi Anderson read prepared remarks to those gathered at the post.

“All our veterans have protected our democracy, our freedom, our way of life. And today, we honor and thank them. And tomorrow, we must continue to honor them. They have given us the chance to live in freedom today and an opportunity to look forward to tomorrow. They have given us every day, and they have protected every freedom. We must honor them every day in every way that we can.”

Afterwards, veterans present were asked to share their branch and period of service.  All branches of the military, with the exception of the Coast Guard, were represented. The only Marine who spoke was Eric Denkewalter, who still fits into his Vietnam-era pilot’s jacket.

“I’m Eric Denkewalter, United States Marine Corps. I joined in March of ’65, and went to Vietnam aboard the USS America, and did 107 combat missions flying F4s off the carrier. Came back and did another tour with the Nimitz.  I decided I had all the fun I could stand, got a job with the pipeline, and moved to Alaska in ’76.”

Following the ceremony and recognition of veterans present, the group enjoyed a pot luck lunch.