Harlingen police honor their own veterans

HARLINGEN - Police gathered in front of the Harlingen Police Department for a Veterans Day ceremony honoring a few of their own.

Officer Sal Carmona said honoring police veterans would salute their efforts on two fronts.

"They fight for the country and they come back here to fight for the town," he said. "We just want to give Veterans Day the emphasis it deserves.

"We have 40 officers that are veterans and we have two who have been deployed and are overseas right now. This is to say thank you to the veterans who are living, and it gives the citizenry a chance to do that."

A flag that was flown in Iraq by Harlingen Police Officer William Bilokury was also retired at the event. Bilokury is currently in training with the military reserves, Carmona said.

"He awarded the flag to the department," Carmona said. "We wanted it to complete the cycle and (for the flag to) be flown here in the United States before we retired it and put it on our walls and take it to the new police department."

Attendees at the afternoon event agreed on the importance of holding a Veterans Day celebration in Harlingen.

Marine and Army National Guard veteran Brian Hickey said the celebration was welcome and needed.

"It feels good to be here and it's nice that the town is doing something like this for us," he said. "It's good to remember us because if it weren't for us, there wouldn't be many of the freedoms we have today."

Army veteran Joe Garcia said the event could teach local youth a lesson in respect.

"This is the first time I've been to one of these events," he said. "We should do a lot more of these things to show the local youngsters to respect the elderly of this community."

World War II Navy veteran and Missouri native John Son said HPD officers were deserving of a Veterans Day commemoration.

"I just got here for the winter and I'm enjoying this," he said. "I think this is very nice that the police are giving this honor to their own. It's good for us to be here to honor them because they do a service now like we did then."