It’s always a good time to support our veterans, but this year is an important one, for it may be the final year to salute and thank the veterans of World War II.

Most men and women of the greatest generation are now more than 85-years old, and once fought to preserve our very way of life.

Without their courage and willingness to help forge our country into the nation it is by hard work and dedication to principles upon their return from the battlefields, we wouldn’t have a country that we would have the privilege of living in today.

The News’ columnist, Pete Mecca, himself a Vietnam veteran, has been writing about some of these World War II heroes for the past couple of years in his “Veteran’s Story” series, along with veterans of every era, war, theater, and conflict where military men and women have served. We highly recommend you read his stories, dealing with the real life adventures of these brave and heroic men and women.

To begin 2014 we want to say thank you to all of our WWII veterans. Your service, we are sure, will never be fully appreciated.

If you have a WWII veteran in your family that is still alive, take a few minutes to tell him or her that you appreciate them -- a little hug wouldn’t be so bad either.