IBERIA PARISH — The Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs held a ceremony on Thursday where Secretary Charlton Meginley presented Tabasco employees and veterans with a Louisiana Honor Medal.
Raymond Bonin, a Marine Reserve veteran who joined the Marines when the Vietnam War was ramping up, was among those honored. Bonin said his service is something he carries with him every day.
"I know a lot of guys who never came back. You know, all the people that are overseas right now, and you never know what's going to show up or what they're going to have to do. What's happening right now, you know, it kind of worries you a little bit."
For Meginley, the presentation was personal — a callback to his own time on active duty.
"Tabasco is an iconic brand. For me, when I was deployed, I had my wife send me Tabasco in a care package, because I just wanted a piece of home, right? And everywhere I travel throughout the world, Tabasco's there, and it is, there's no better representative, I think, of what the Louisiana culture is and what it means on the world stage than Tabasco itself."
Meginley said ceremonies like Thursday's go beyond simply thanking veterans for their service.
"It's more than about being remembered, right? For me, we go into companies all the time and recognize the veteran employees, and oftentimes what you'll find is that the other employees in the leadership didn't know that they had a veteran, and all of a sudden it's like, oh well, what branch were you in? When did you serve? What did you see? What did you do?"
Bonin said the recognition means a great deal to him.
"Yeah, it's really an honor. It's really an honor to be thought of."
