I graduated from high school in 1975, just as America was winding down its involvement in Vietnam. Flat feet, chronic ear infections, and being an only son might’ve kept me from service anyway—but by the mid-’70s, the government wasn’t looking very hard for recruits. Looking back, I realize how easily I could have taken freedom for granted. I didn’t serve, but I’ve been fortunate to know men who did—men who paid the price for the freedoms we enjoy.

As a result, I was mostly removed from the lives of veterans. I knew my Dad had served during the Korean War, although he never left the States. Like most vets, he didn’t say much about his service – other than that he was dirt poor.

At our trucking firm, we’ve always honor our veterans. There’s a billboard with the names of the vets who work for us, and a statue out front, under an enormous American flag, dedicated to veterans. We have trucks wrapped in salute to veterans. A veteran are some of the best employees you can have, and we’re honored they chose our company.

Around the year 2000, I befriended a veteran who was, in every sense, an American hero: Colonel Jim Kasler. My father and I were privileged to know, golf with, and dine with the Colonel on many occasions. He told me stories that left me speechless.

Colonel Kasler remains the only person ever awarded the Air Force Cross three times. The Air Force Cross ranks just below the Medal of Honor as recognition for extraordinary heroism in combat.

“The Colonel,” as we all called him, was born in 1926 and passed away in 2014. He served in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, flying 198 combat missions and earning credit for downing six MiG-15s.

Then came his capture. Colonel Kasler was a Prisoner of War in North Vietnam for nearly seven years—2,401 days— making him one of the ten longest-held POWs of the war. He was singled out for “special attention,” brutal torture designed to break his will and force propaganda confessions. In his own words:

“My worst session of torture began in late June 1968… I couldn’t say the things they were trying to force me to say… I went through the ropes and irons ten times… denied sleep for five days… beaten every hour on the hour with a fan belt… starvation diet… massive bone infection in my right leg… During this time, they beat my face to a pulp. I couldn’t get my teeth apart for five days. My eardrum was ruptured, one of my ribs broke, and the pin in my right leg was broken loose and driven up into my hip.”

When deployed to Southeast Asia, he served as an F-105 pilot with the 354th Tactical Fighter Squadron of the 355th Tactical Fighter Wing at Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand. By August 1966, Time magazine called him “the hottest pilot in Vietnam,” and his wing mates dubbed him “a one-man Air Force.”

Colonel Kasler received 76 awards for valor and service, including:

• Three Air Force Crosses
• Two Silver Stars
• Nine Distinguished Flying Crosses
• Two Bronze Stars
• Two Purple Hearts
• Eleven Air Medals

His biography is titled Tempered Steel. The name fits. (I have an autographed copy.)

Men like the Colonel—and the many others I’ve known, named and unnamed—changed how I see Veterans Day. It’s not about parades or speeches anymore. It’s about valor, sacrifice, and the quiet strength of our American veterans.

Today I don’t have a grand speech, just gratitude.

If you know a vet, call them.

If you see a flag, stand.

If you pray, add a name.

Freedom has a price—and most of us didn’t pay it.