“I was one of the lucky ones.”

That quote was taken from the Independent special section “Honoring Our Heroes.” (June 29) The section honored military veterans in southwest Minnesota.

Gib Christensen of Granite Falls was one of the veterans profiled. He deployed with the National Guard to Iraq 2004-05. His above quote expressed his appreciation to his fellow National Guardsmen who served with him.

“We lost three soldiers,” he told the Independent. He especially talked of Jason Timmerman of Marshall who was among those killed.

While Christensen worked to fix and maintain radios, he still served in a danger zone. He’s proud of his service and so are we. That is why we wrote about Christensen.

We are also proud of Bruce Fuhrmann. He enlisted in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. He was active duty in Fort Knox, Kentucky, and later a member of the Army reserve unit out of Marshall.

We also wrote about Dan Markell, Dan Stevens and Dale Schroeder. They didn’t share any war stories. While those details are sometimes appealing to read about, there is something more special about these three men. They make up the Marshall American Legion Honor Guard. Patriotism is important to the trio. So is showing their gratitude to the others who served and those who served and never returned home. Besides participating in Memorial Day and Veterans Day ceremonies, the men show up for funerals.

Schroeder told us that being an honor guard member is important to him because the “dignity it represents for a funeral, it’s giving back honor and respect.”

And that brings us back to Christensen and Fuhrmann. Christensen gives back to his fellow veterans by serving as vice-commander of the Granite Falls American Legion. Fuhrmann serves as commander of the Marshall American Legion.

All of these men fill important roles in leading a mission to enhance the well-being of America’s veterans, their families, the military and serving the communities they live in.

We salute these men and all the others who volunteer at American Legions across this nation.

We are the lucky ones that you continue to serve.