The Editor, Sir:

Allow me space to express my gratitude to the recipients and organisers of the national Honours ceremony held yesterday (National Heroes' Day) on the lawns of King's House. I was filled with a sense of pride watching the event on TV.

The pomp and ceremony of the occasion as well as the humility of the recipients upon their receipt of these very high honours reminded me clearly that Jamaicans are, indeed, a great people.

I was particularly struck by the awards to members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force for their individual and collective acts of bravery. In fact, it was quite a delight to see that at least one officer, Detective Constable Michael Francis, was awarded posthumously for his bravery, as well as Dahlia Dumont, who rescued her two children from a burning building.

Indeed, these acts of bravery and high achievements in the fields of business, education, the arts, sports, entertainment and science, inter alia, remind us that Jamaica is really a proud nation. Sadly, too often, so many of us seem to forget and choose instead to wreak havoc and despair.

Let us, then, in the words of the nation's leaders, focus on and draw inspiration from these Jamaicans whose insistence on waving the black, green and gold of the flag at the highest levels continue to fill us with pride and national goodwill.

Thanks for a proud Jamaican moment!

I am, etc.,

AGOSTINHO PINNOCK

Kingston, Jamaica