Why we run a veterans piece in every issue
A holiday comes once a year. The people it honors live here all year.
When we started The Sussex Ledger, we said every issue would carry a piece for veterans. No exceptions. This is the second veterans edition this week, so it's a fair time to say why.
The first reason is arithmetic. The Census Bureau counts 17,767 veterans in Sussex County. They aren't a special interest. They're our neighbors, and a county paper that covers its neighbors covers them.
The second reason is the calendar. Veterans Day comes once a year. A claim that needs filing, a clinic appointment and a hard night don't wait for November. If we wrote about veterans only when the flags were out, we'd be covering a holiday, not people.
The third reason is the record. We publish the public record of Sussex County, and veterans run through it: the ceremonies their posts hold, the groups that serve them and the help that's a short drive away. That's worth printing every week, with the source beside it.
We also owe you a straight account of what isn't here. On Nov. 8 we said this edition would honor veterans you told us about. Those stories aren't ready, and we won't print a veteran's story until it's theirs, checked with them. They will run when they are. And for 14 towns, we couldn't confirm a ceremony. We said so on that page.
If you served, thank you. If you want to tell us about a veteran, the form is here, and it stays open after Wednesday.
C.L. Rosslyn
Editor in Chief, The Sussex Ledger
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