La Feria Holds Veterans Day Ceremony, Honors Comrade

by Tony Vindell/LFN

People all over the United States met this past Nov. 11 to commemorate Veterans Day.

They thanked, honored and paid tribute to those who have served their country or who still are in U.S. military forces – Army, Marines, Coast Guard, Air Force and Navy.

Here in La Feria, they gathered at the Veterans Memorial Monument Park and honored, recognized and remembered their loved ones.

One of them, former Army veteran Joe Loya, was not present as he passed this Nov. 3, or a day after he turned 60.

But Loya was not forgotten.

He was honored by Texas Sen., Eddie Lucio Jr. who presented a Texas flag to his mother Genoveva and his wife Gloria.

Loya’s brother, Eric, said he did about 20 years with the Army and that he will be dearly missed.

The Veterans Day ceremony was well attended by many veterans and by the townspeople who met for about an hour to hear from several people.

Lucio, the guest speaker, said people here live in one of the worlds best places and part of that is because of “Our veterans.”

He said the ceremony here exemplifies the spirit of its residents – young and adults alike.

Lucio credited the local Chamber of Commerce and the Veterans Memorial Committee for spearheading this event and issued a letter of recognition to several residents, including Alma Martinez-Botello, who is the chamber’s director of operations.