If there is one thing the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., taught us, it is that time is precious.

Since its opening in 2004, there have been news reports after news reports of World War II veterans in their 80s and 90s trekking, though so gingerly, to the memorial. Fifty-nine years after that war ended, a memorial was built to honor those veterans.

Time was allowed to slip away.

An opportunity to honor some of those veterans was lost because of inaction.

Yet here in Bainbridge, there was an opportunity to have a Vietnam-era helicopter that was used in historic combat during that time—and a 42-cent stamp—couldn’t keep here.

Here too, time was allowed to slip away, and an opportunity for us here in Bainbridge to honor veterans may be lost.

Some in the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4904 say they had been waiting on a letter from the city for approximately two months to authorize the relocation of the helicopter to the Welcome Center, where it would serve as a local memorial to veterans’ service.

Fix this impasse so the helicopter can remain in Bainbridge at the Welcome Center.

Fix this so veterans of yet another war don’t have to wait on being honored until time takes too heavy of a toll on them.

They have earned better.