All Saints Celebrates Veterans Day

All Saints Parish on Lancaster Ave in Syracuse celebrated Veterans Day yesterday with a special mass and flagpole dedication ceremony. Veterans brought the gifts to the altar and the homily was about giving thanks to the vets, both living and deceased. Rev. Frederick D. Daley asked us to especially remember those who lost their lives in the Fort Hood tragedy.

The flagpole dedication ceremony took place immediately following the service. It was a beautiful sunny day and there were many tears as names of those killed in action were read aloud. Attendees were able to mention those close to them as well.

World War II and Korean War veteran Fred Bishop raised a flag to the top of the new pole at the conclusion of the ceremony before saluting the stars and stripes. On a day surrounded by memories of our loved ones who have served and gone before us, this 91-and-a-half-year-old vet is still full of energy.

Bishop spends his Veterans Day every year thinking back on his time in the military. Initially stationed in California to protect the coast from possible Japanese attack during WWII, then he went to Hawaii and bombed the Pacific coast before ending in the Philippines.

Says Bishop, "We were up in the Philippines with nothing to do!" As a navigator, he waited for the opportunity to return home and then navigated his way back.

Like so many other living veterans, Bishop was very eager to share his story. There was excitement in his voice as he recalled the tales of his 13 years of military service and was so excited that I'd taken the time to listen that he gave me a big hug after our interview.

View a video version of this story here.

Veterans' Day brings people to the golf courses

Drumlins Golf Course in Syracuse usually closes its East Course in early November. However, today it saw a boom in business, as the weather and the holiday brought people to the course.

Drumlins' head golf pro Sean Dadey said, "If there's 40 people out there now, they're here because of the weather, if it was 20 degrees colder you wouldnt see anyone."

Dadey was pleased with Wednesday's turnout which featured a lot of businessmen enjoying their day off for Veterans' Day.

"Its great that we have the freedom to play this game today." Said Joe Manley, who works at the VA Medical Center, "We are actually afforded the freedom to go on as if nothing matters, like there's not a war going on. Where every soldier is out there putting their life on the line every day.”

Manley was part of a foursome that started play around noon. The group said that they needed to capitalize on days like Wednesday when the weather is nice and they have time off

Manley's was one of many people who came to the course today. The crowd ranged from families to Jim Cody, who is the director of the VA Medical Center. Cody said he always tries to go golfing on Veterans' Day.

Drumlins is still scheduled to close its private course within the next few weeks (after the first big snowfall), but it until they do, it seems like Syracuse residents will keep playing.