BY STACI WILSON

Blue Ridge served up breakfast to area veterans in honor of Veterans Day, Tuesday, Nov. 11.

The breakfast is hosted by the school’s Leo Club and precedes the elementary school’s Veterans Day program.

Bob Neira, who served as a U.S. Marine from 1957-1961, said he has attended the annual breakfast for the past four or five years.

“The students are gracious and welcoming,” he said. “It means a lot.”

Neira said not all veterans have been treated so well. “Some of my buddies from Vietnam and Korea didn’t get a homecoming,” he said.

One of his friends had served in Korea. Neira said, “He walked 70 miles from the fort to get on the ship during the cold, bitter winter and fought all the way down.” But, he said, the man returned without fanfare.

That friend recently took part in Honor Flight – an organization that transports military veterans to their memorials in Washington, D.C.

When his friend returned, Neira said he and USMC recruiters were waiting to greet him.

“We all saluted him and he cried,” Neira said. “It’s sad that people don’t always recognize what our servicemen and women are doing. It should be recognized more.”

In addition to the breakfast and elementary program, the high school band and choir also performed. The choir’s rendition of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” received a standing ovation from the veterans.