ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — Florida Lt. Gov. Jay Collins knows what it takes to earn the Green Beret. He also knows what it takes to earn it again after losing a leg. On Veterans Day at Anastasia Baptist Church, he turned the attention to the men and women who had answered the same call to serve.
“We would not have what we have as a nation if it were not for you,” Collins told the veterans gathered there.
In a year marking 250 years of American independence, Collins asked the audience to consider what inspires young Americans to stand and fight together, willing, in his words, to give their “last full measure of devotion.”
“I want to talk about why I did, what it is that makes America so special,” he said.
Collins spoke of growing up in poverty, being wounded in combat and fighting his way back to military service. St. Johns County Sheriff Rob Hardwick, who introduced him, said Collins served more than 23 years in the Army, including five as a Green Beret after losing his leg. Following his military career, Collins helped provide meals to disaster survivors through Operation BBQ Relief.
“None of us get through a life by ourselves,” Collins said.
Hardwick brought that thought home when he asked military spouses in the audience to stand. He recalled how a call in the middle of the night can send a service member to report for duty the next morning and prepare to deploy. The spouses who stood had their own stories of those departures and the responsibilities they carried while their loved ones were away.
The morning, hosted by the Veterans Council of St. Johns County and the Military Officers Association of America, honored service across generations. The Vietnam Traveling Wall and the Global War on Terrorism Traveling Wall were among the displays, and more than 30 organizations that serve veterans and the wider community took part. The St. Johns County Center for the Performing Arts Chamber Singers performed the songs of the armed forces.
Retired U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Evangelo “Vann” Morris gave voice to the American flag in his recitation of “Old Glory,” a poem traditionally heard at military promotions and retirements. He carried listeners from battlefields to a graveside, where the flag is placed in the trembling arms of a grieving mother.
Collins described veterans as people who had stood between their families and danger.
“God has blessed this nation, unlike any other. I know that our veterans have done what they’ve done to protect those blessings,” Collins said.
Retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Bill Dudley, co-chair of the event, closed the ceremony by asking those gathered to remember them in the days ahead.
“Thank you for attending and helping us honor all of those who have served our great nation,” said Dudley. ”We ask throughout the day and for the days to come, extend that hand to our veterans and thank them for their service.”
