LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. — In 1993, Lehigh Community Park South opened, but within a year, its name changed to Veterans Park.
Christine Garris with Lehigh's local American Legion post said since then, the community celebrates every Veterans Day at the park.
"We love Lehigh Acres, and we love being so a part of this community, and we appreciate everybody," Garris said.
Both Lehighs' American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars chapters celebrate and honor the past, current and future servicemen and women together.
They raised the flag, recited the pledge of allegiance and shared what service means to them.
More than 800 veterans are members in Lehigh's American Legion post.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, from 2018 to 2022, 5,113 veterans called Lehigh Acres home.
Garris said, "There's a strong foundation here of veterans."
Watch Lehigh Acres Community Correspondent Ella Rhoades report below:
Charles Appler represents that strong foundation she mentioned.
Appler moved to Lehigh Acres in the 1980s.
He served as a Navy Medical Corpsman in the Pacific during World War II.
Appler spoke at the Veterans Day service and shared with the community about his time during the war. He described a time when he was in a small island in the Pacific, where he built a tent hospital. As they treated wounded soldiers, he said Japanese pilots were shooting at them.
After the ceremony, Lehigh Acres Community Correspondent Ella Rhoades asked what this day means to him.
"Respect for our country and respect for others and a peaceful world," Appler said.
For more than 25 years, he's attended the ceremony at Veterans Park alongside other veterans from Lehigh.
What stands out to him most after all these years?
He said, "Truly, I'm amazed of the young people that will pass you in Publix, or on the street or in the store, thank you for your service, and I'm grateful that they do that."
Eighty years after he served, he believes the world can still look back at his experience to guide the future.
Addler said,"This remembrance will continue into the future. While it was a war to end all wars, it was not. Maybe, we can still learn some lessons from it."
He'll celebrate his 100th birthday in January.
