Honoring those who guarded our freedom
To the members of the American Legion Sauls-Bridges Post 13, Veterans Day isn’t just breakfast and a parade. For many, it’s a day to honor their families and the meaning of their lives.
For instance, Commander Dennis Hall says two of his grandfathers served in World War I, his father in World War II, his uncle in Vietnam, and his son in Iraq.
The local American Legion post was named for the first Tallahassee resident killed in World War I, Claude L. Sauls, and the first Tallahassee soldier killed in World War II, Ben H. Bridges.
“Freedom isn’t guaranteed,” says Shirley Combass, a retired first sergeant. “It’s guarded.”
“They’re willing to put their lives on the line, if need be,” says John Folsom, the post’s chaplain and former commander. “When these men and women enlist, they don’t know where they’re going to end up. Some were killed and some had life-changing injuries that they continue to live with.”
More than 17,000 veterans live in Leon County. The American Legion Hall is 100 years old.
‘Ordinary people who make extraordinary sacrifices’
First Sergeant (retired) Shirley Combass
Shirley Combass is a reservist who served from 1986 to 2013 and retired with 27 years under her belt. She also worked for the Florida Department of Financial Services during part of that time and still does. She serves in volunteer roles for the American Legion and the Women Veterans Unite organization.
“Being in the reserves taught me how to give back not only to the military but also to the communities,” Combass says. “Reservists live two lives.”
Service members come from every background, she says, but share “a deep and abiding sense of duty. The public should know that service members are ordinary people who make extraordinary sacrifices.”
Combass should know, too. When she was ordered to do more pushups, she didn’t mind because she knew it would make her stronger. She praises the mentors who pushed her, she says, because they wanted her to succeed.
Combass says Veterans Day is a day of reflection and gratitude, the day she thinks of the soldiers she’s led, the ones she’s served with and the ones the country has lost.
From a brush with Agent Orange to savoring freedom in all its forms
Navy veteran John Folsom of Tallahassee completed the Navy’s training requirements for positions as a company clerk, master-at-arms and gunner’s mate. He served on the USS Galveston off the coast of Vietnam.
He was exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam and is 60 percent disabled, using a cane.
“I’m not too many days away from having to use a walker,” he says.
Chaplain John Folsom
As a young man, he says, he was “a rebellious kid,” but the Navy helped straighten him out.
“The service in a way took the place of a parent,” he says. “Then I started to learn more respect for the people around me.”
Folsom worked as a postal worker in the city of Quincy for 30 years, and he’s served in many roles as a veteran, including commander of Sauls-Bridges Post 13. Currently, he’s the chaplain.
He knows the American Legion Hall is sometimes rented to people who are, as Folsom puts it “on the opposite end of the spectrum” politically from him.
“It’s a free country,” he says. “They’ve got the right to say what they want to say.”
COMMANDER
Post Commander Dennis Hall
Dennis Hall, who hails from Lake City, describes his hometown as “all red, white and blue… When our men and women went off to the service and came back, we had parties for ‘em.”
Wanting to continue his college education, he joined the National Guard in 1966. He served in a unit of engineers, then transferred to an infantry unit in 1968.
“I enjoyed the camaraderie, so I re-enlisted,” he says, and ended up staying more than 20 years. “You did things as a team… You felt you could count on one another.”
Hall points proudly to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Navy veteran, and to Florida’s many legislators who are veterans. He says the state’s military strength brings considerable revenue into Florida.
He says people are very proud of the military today.
According to the Florida Department of Veteran’s Affairs, “Florida is home to nearly 1.4 million veterans, and is proud to be the most military- and veteran-friendly state in the nation.”
‘Operation Thank You’
Veterans say the way to keep alive those who gave their all for their country is to remember them in ceremonies like Tuesday’s – and to do more.
That’s why the American Legion provides legal services to veterans. Hall says volunteer attorneys help vets with matters such as making out a will or filing disability claims.
That’s why local elected officials will dish out the eggs at the Veterans Day community breakfast on Tuesday morning in the American Legion Hall at Lake Ella.
That’s why the community breakfast, Operation Thank You, is free and open to the public from 6:30 to 9 a.m.
That’s why the Highway 59 Band played at the American Legion on Friday, Nov. 7, to raise funds for the Tallahassee Veterans Village, which provides transitional housing and support services to unhoused veterans to stabilize and prepare them for a life of independence.
That’s why Leon County maintains a Division of Veteran Services, which helps the county’s veterans and their dependents secure all the benefits earned through their honorable military service. During Fiscal Year 2025, the division helped Leon veterans receive more than $40 million in benefits, and helped 20 vets receive emergency financial assistance.
The breakfast, a joint event by the post and the Leon County Government, expects between 400 to 500 people to attend.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Tallahassee vets, America Legion reflect on Veterans Day