OTTUMWA — There is much to learn from those who have served.

“Veterans Day can be a day to remember and a day to educate,” said Patrick Coen, a retired Iowa National Guard member from Mount Pleasant. He was the guest speaker at the Evans Middle School Veterans Day assembly Tuesday.

“Don’t hold back,” he said. “We’re lucky to live in a land this free; some people aren’t that lucky. Achieve your fullest potential.”

Coen said the men and women who have served in the military before and since his service have all sacrificed for the good of the country and for every American’s personal freedoms.

“These men and women over here have protected your freedoms that you have,” said Evans Middle School Principal Dan Maeder, pointing to a group of veterans.

Coen’s presentation, titled “Operation Bulldog,” was direct and honest. He reminded students about everything from young women in other countries not being allowed an education to avoiding drugs, domestic violence and his service in the military.

“If you want to do something, you can do it; set your goals high and achieve them,” he said.

At one point in the presentation, he instructed two students to follow him with a box.

“This may just be a box,” he said. “But it’s more.”

He said that box contained information that he needed whenever he had a question he didn’t know the answer to. He could put something in that box to help him answer it. He also said the box had been with him when his grandmother died and he wasn’t able to fly home from war, when his best friend had a baby and when his friend in the service died on his birthday.

“This box has been to so many different countries and been through so much,” he said. “And each of us have our own box. That is what you can count on.

“Be the best you can be every day. I know each of you are capable of that.”

Scott Niles can be reached at (641) 683-5360 or via e-mail at sjniles@mchsi.com.