TAMPA, Fla. — Hillsborough County will host the 61st Annual Veterans Day Tribute on Tuesday morning on the grounds of Veterans Memorial Park.
To combat the cold weather, Hillsborough County says they will have portable heaters, hot chocolate, and a prize for the best warmly-dressed patriot or veteran.
The event will honor veterans of all eras and military branches and include veteran guest speakers to help lead the group through the ceremony
What You Need To Know
The event will honor veterans of all eras and military branches
Veterans Memorial Park open all day Tuesday
ATTEND: Find a ceremony near you
Paul Huszar, Lt. Col. Ret. for the U.S. Army, will be a featured speaker. His hope is that more members of the community get to know veterans on a personal level.
In 2013, there were roughly 22 million veterans living in the U.S. Today, Huszar said, there are closer to 15.5 million.
“There are fewer and fewer veterans, and the US population is increasing, so we’re growing further and further apart from the population we serve to protect and defend,” he said.
Huszar is a decorated veteran who spent 11 years of his 23-year military career as a paratrooper. He said he had just received his first overseas assignment in Korea when the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003. He then did four tours in Iraq in just seven years.
During that time, he says, his two children were very young.
“Sometimes I’ll be with them and we’ll talk about something and I’ll be like… what are we talking about?” Huszar recalled. “They’ll be like, ‘Oh dad that was one of those years you were gone.’ It’s something I knew would be a big sacrifice, but I chose to do that, but they didn’t choose to do that.”
Huszar hopes this Veterans Day, the community will take a moment to recognize the sacrifices that so many members of the military have made.