Five military veterans stood side by side, with their right hands over their hearts, as a recording of the national anthem echoed through the empty Soldier Field concourse.
With America suffering in the coronavirus pandemic, Soldier Field officials held a small Veterans Day ceremony Wednesday, deviating from large-scale ceremonies of years past.
“It’s not big events (this year), but today still means a lot to us at heart,” said Marine veteran Robert Pineda, 22. “It doesn’t change because COVID’s happening; it doesn’t mean less or more.”
This year’s ceremony was quite different from the traditional ceremony that’s been in place since the redone stadium opened in 2003 and usually attended by politicians, bands and scores of veterans and active members of the military.
This year, there were no speakers, no crowd, just a humble ceremony during which five military veterans placed a wreath in front of the Doughboy statue inside the south gate at Soldier Field. A recording of taps played after they laid the wreath.
But the spirit of American veterans could still be felt inside the cold, empty stadium. From the stadium’s name to the historic military photographs prominently displayed on the interior walls, to the words engraved on the benches inside the concourse, the essence of sacrifice was ubiquitous.
“Honor to the soldier, and sailor everywhere, who bravely bears his country’s cause,” was inscribed on a bench inside Soldier Field’s concourse.
Aaron LaMore, an Army veteran who enlisted straight out of high school, said Veterans Day means “everything” to him.
LaMore, 43, spoke with pride as he talked about four or five generations of his family serving in the Armed Forces.
“We all served. It’s what we did,” he said.
Navy veteran Nabon Marsico, 45, said it’s always “a little awkward” when someone thanks him for his service.
“My father was in the Army; I was in the Navy because it just felt like something I should do, not necessarily something people would thank me for.”
Pineda said he joined the Marines so he could give back to his country.
“I decided that my country’s done so much for me, so I decided the least I could do was serve my country.”