It may have been held a day early, but that didn’t stop a sizable crowd from gathering to show their patriotism in Lehighton.

Members of the community joined together for a Veterans Day program hosted by the Lehighton United Veterans Organization on Tuesday evening.

The purpose of the program held in the Lehighton Borough Park Amphitheater was to serve as a tribute to our veterans, according to Kevin “Spike” Long, commander of the Lehighton UVO.

“We as a UVO, we wanted to take some time to remember our veterans,” Long said. “So tonight, let us remember our veterans.”

Christine LeClair, Carbon County Director of Veterans Affairs, gave opening remarks.

“The veterans we honor today have come from all walks of life, but they share several fundamental qualities,” LeClair said. “The Army core values sum up the attributes of these men and women who sought to defend a cause which was greater than one’s self: Loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage.”

Regardless whether they volunteered or not, LeClair said they all served our country in times of need.

“Some of them didn’t ask to leave their homes to fight on distant battlefields and some volunteered, yet they were all ordinary people who responded in extraordinary ways in extreme times,” she said. “They rose to the occasion because they wanted to protect a nation which has given us all too much.”

LeClair noted that this week people throughout the country will gather together to pay tribute to America’s veterans.

“Our gathering is just one small spark in the flame of pride that burns across the nation today and every day,” she said. “It’s not a lot, but it is one way to show our gratitude to those who fought for our freedom, which oftentimes meant missing the birth of their firstborn and spending countless holidays away from the ones who they loved most.”

Retired Lt. Col. Travis Steigerwalt, a Lehighton graduate and Iraq/Afghanistan veteran, served as the main speaker.

Steigerwalt said that ironically, the military wasn’t even on his radar during his youth.

“When I was in high school, I had no interest in the military,” Steigerwalt said.

Steigerwalt said he enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve in 1987.

He said he graduated college in 1990 during a time when the Gulf War started.

In 2005, Steigerwalt said he was selected to go to Afghanistan.

“It was an experience going into a Third World country,” he said. “It really was a great deployment, and I learned a lot, saw a lot.”

Steigerwalt said what he wasn’t prepared for was when he came home on leave for the holiday the following year to see his wife waiting for him, crying.

In 2009, he said he was deployed to Iraq, and again explained how grateful he was to be able to return home again to see his family after his deployment.

“I couldn’t do all the things I did without my family,” he said.

Steigerwalt said people who come in contact with a veteran can do one simple deed that can make all the difference.

“When you see a veteran, thank them,” he said.