My favorite city-sponsored event in Aurora has always been its Veterans Day activities and tributes. The celebration never fails to be a true patriotic experience for me.

The parades, guest speeches, rifle salutes and playing of taps have always been inspirational, and those traditions continued recently in downtown Aurora. Although the parade was held outdoors on the cold and blustery day, the speaking portions of the program were moved indoors to City Hall.

This year’s guest speaker was United States Air Force veteran and current Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps instructor Scott Hellinger. He is the lead instructor in the AFJROTC program at West High School in Aurora.

A recipient of many military awards and decorations, Hellinger spoke of our veterans’ willingness to al

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