About 200 people came out Sunday for the Veterans Day service at the American Legion Unit 927 in Gilbert, including children in the Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts. Post Commander Dan Insalata served as master of the ceremony, followed by speakers from the community.

“For them to be here and pay respect for the veterans is an honor,” he said about the Scouts.

Insalata thanked the veterans for their service and thanked their families. He said veterans need advocates, and the American Legion is there to serve them and their families.

Peggy Calcavecchia, veterans outreach coordinator for the American Legion Auxiliary, said the auxiliary visits veterans at several area nursing homes and holds group discussions and one-on-one conversations. They play trivia games with the veterans, read poetry, play music and make sure to visit them on their birthdays with a personalized birthday card, poppy and small gift, as well as on the holidays.

“It’s so very important to express our appreciation and gratitude for their courage, dedication and service,” she said. “Because of our visits and interactions, the veterans we visit who were once quiet and not very sociable, now look forward to and expect our visits. Those who were pleasant and happy from the start are even more so now.”

Patricia Froncek, president of the auxiliary, spoke about how without our soldiers in the Revolutionary War, the United States of America would not exist, and where the freedoms we continue to enjoy would be gone had they not fought to keep them.

“We celebrate this day; we honor our veterans today, because we know that without them there would be no land of the free,” she said. “All of our veterans have protected our democracy, our freedom, our way of life. Today, we honor you and thank you. And tomorrow, we must continue to honor them. … We must honor them every day.”

Native American Don Wild Eagle said his people have also served in the United States military and he brought with him an example of an early flag. His flag was a staff with 13 eagle feathers tied together, but spaced apart with a circle at the top and beads of yellow, black, red and white. The feathers represent things people should do such as learn, serve, share, thank and have clarity. The beads represent all of the races in this country and his message was one of unification when at this time, so many are divided.

He said the symbol of the eagle with outspread wings, like the one atop the American flag, has a special meaning to his people — the Pima tribe. The right wing stands for love, the left wing stands for peace and in the center is trust.

“We should be unified. We are one nation under God,” Don said. “We can work together for the benefit of the world.”

Army Staff Sgt. Daniel Hays spoke about the troubling number of suicide deaths of veterans. He said the number has dropped to 20 per day from 22 last year, but “it’s still too high.”

It’s a difficult topic, but he said he decided to speak about it because “so many veterans hold on to so many things and they don’t feel like they can bring it up to anyone. By me bringing it up, maybe it will open up their mind and someone will reach out to someone else or remind them to reach out to a veteran they haven’t heard from in a while.”