Highland County Public Schools

MONTEREY — Highland County Public Schools held a Veterans Day program on Monday morning.

Students created artwork and handed it out to veterans, sang songs to honor their service, and listened to former Navy Seal Capt. Alex Mackenzie speak.

Mackenzie explained the difference between Veterans Day and Memorial Day.

“Memorial Day is about those men and women who have perished in the service to our county,” he said. “Veterans Day is about those men and women who served and lived to tell about it.”

He noted there is an aftermath for those who survive combat, leaving veterans with physical and emotional challenges that often set them apart.

“This is part of the reason why it means so much when someone engages with them,” he said. He said some vets don’t have any support beyond their local community.

Mackenzie said there are more than 3,100 counties in America, and other local communities, too.

“These are all worth fighting for,” Mackenzie said. “In short, America is worth fighting for.”

Mackenzie said Highland County is the best county in his opinion, and thoughts of home helped him when he served in other countries.

“It has buoyed me up from afar,” he said. “What is it about this place? It is the scenery. It is the remoteness. It is the mountains. It is our rural way of life, but it’s also the people. People are pretty important.”

Mackenzie explained that all service members swear an oath to the Constitution, as do all elected officials. “That document remains the bedrock document of our republic,” he said. He encouraged everyone to read and study the Constitution.

“Thank God for the rights that we have enshrined in our founding documents,” he added.

“Without that Constitution, everything would fall more apart and become more greatly diminished.”