Words etched on a memorial in Burma, recognizing the sacrifices made by the U.S. Army 2nd Division, ring as true today as they did during World War II, CWO Nick Hay, retired, told those attending Memorial Day services at Highland Cemetery Monday morning.
“When you go home, tell them of us, and say — for your tomorrow, we gave our today,” the inscription reads.
“Think about those words,” Hay, Yates Center, said. U.S. military personnel have “… defended the future of freedom at places like Bunker Hill and Yorktown, Gettysburg and Antietam, the trenches in France, Guadalcanal and Normandy, the Korean peninsula, Vietnam, Kuwait, Afghanistan and Iraq.
“As we pay homage to our nation’s fallen soldiers, let us reaffirm our national commitment of keeping the freedom torch burning for tomorrow,” he continued. “Let us support the American soldiers who are defending freedom as we speak.
“That’s why your attendance at this Memorial Day ceremony is important,” Hay observed. “It sends a clear signal that America stands united behind our Armed Forces, just as we have in the past, just as we will in the future. It says that you care enough about this country to take a moment of remembrance.”
He concluded: “May the men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country live forever in our memories. And may we honor them by doing everything we can to protect freedom for future generations, whenever, and wherever, it is threatened.”
THE MEMORIAL service included placing of wreaths at the base of the obelisk in the center of Highland Cemetery’s veterans section, as well as traditional selections by the Iola Municipal Band to open and close the event.
The Moran American Legion and LaHarpe VFW firing squad gave a three-volley salute to the dead. The group’s flagbearers also participated.
Among those who looked on with reverence were Smiley Walters and Richard Gilliland, Vietnam veterans. Each said the ceremony, which they attend each year, was particularly meaningful to them.
“I didn’t do much in Vietnam,” said Gilliland, an observation that was disputed by several bystanders, “but I think it is very important to recognize and remember those who have served and who gave their lives for our country.”
