Sweet Home honored those who have fallen in defense of the United States in memorial services at area cemeteries.
Veteran’s organizations conducted ceremonies at Brownsville’s Pioneer, Crawfordsville Union and Sweet Home’s Gilliland cemeteries Monday morning.
“Today we honor a very special group of Americans who served our country and who gave their lives to that service,” Emcee Marion Fritts said. “In peacetime and in war, these Americans answered our nation’s call and defended our way of life. In honoring them today, we recognize their dedication, courage and sacrifice, and we also celebrate the freedom they gave us.”
“These are the people who have made our way of life what it is today, and too often, we take the freedom and security these sacrifices made possible for granted,” Mayor Tim McQueary said. “It is only through the unselfish giving of our service men and women that the rest of us can enjoy this freedom and security.
“With the actions still underway in Iraq, we continue to add more names of American men and women to the list of those killed in action. Again this action was taken so that the Iraqi people can have a choice to live in freedom and the rest of the world can live without the fear of a tyrant doing unthinkable harm to the rest of us.
“As I sat down to put on paper what I wanted to say today, I found myself reflecting on the shortened lives of those who are not with us today.
“I wondered what these people would have contributed to their families and their communities. Would they have been involved in their churches, city, county, state governments. Could they have gone on to be our next mayor, governor, senator or president? We will never know.
“So I would like to ask each of you as you go through your lives to stop and remember these loved ones, friends, acquaintances, who they were and what they stood for.
“And in their memory, please do some good for someone or something, so they can live on through your good deeds. Make their sacrifices mean something positive ever day. You can do this for them. God bless everyone of you. God bless America.”
During the ceremony, representatives of veterans and community groups laid wreathes in honor of American’s fallen soldiers.
Jan Hufford-Wilson recited the poem “Flander’s Field.” Linda Delano read a new poem, “The Perfect War Machine.”
Veterans provided a rifle salute, while a Marine color guard stood at attention.