Fort Belvoir, Va. (May 30, 2014) - The Fort Belvoir Garrison command team and representatives from the Belvoir Garden Club and Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce honored servicemembers who have lost their lives in past American wars during a wreath laying ceremony at the Wall of Remembrance, May 22.
Garrison Commander, Col. Gregory D. Gadson and Donald Carr, Fort Belvoir Garrison Public Affairs Office, director, gave remarks during the observance. Both said it is important that people remember the servicemembers who have given their lives to preserve the freedoms our nation enjoys today.
"Whatever you are doing at 3 p.m. on Monday, take a moment of silence," said Carr. "None of us would be here today if it wasn't for those who served and sacrificed before us."
The Belvoir Garden club has donated a wreath for the Memorial Day Observance since having the Blue Star Memorial marker placed on U. S. Route 1 in 1990. Making a wreath for the observance is the Garden Club's way of supporting Fort Belvoir, according to Alice Ess, Belvoir Garden Club representative.
"This is one of the most honored ways we can support the base by making a wreath to represent the servicemembers who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom," said Ess. "It's very special because we all know someone who has been lost in battle."
In his remarks, Gadson said there is a daughter or son who will never see his or her parents again, there is a man or woman who has lost the warmth of a spouse's loving embrace and parents who will never be able to give their children sound wisdom again.
Cherishing that sacred legacy of freedom and being committed to its preservation, whatever the cost, is the greatest honor we can pay our fallen servicemembers, Gadson said.
"Our volunteer patriots have laid down their lives for us and have left behind spouses, sons and daughters, and other loved ones, to serve this country," said Gadson.
The observance is the third that Capt. Ryan Goltz, 212th Military Police Detachment, commander, has attended at Fort Belvoir. Goltz said Gadson's comments were very accurate, especially since Goltz dealt with the loss of a Soldier in 2012.
"It's one of the most heartbreaking things you can go through because as a Soldier, you understand the price you can pay," said Goltz. "When a servicemember sees the Family of a fallen servicemember, it's a very emotional event because you can't fathom what they are feeling. If you feel pain for the Family, imagine how much more pain they are feeling."
Gadson's words also touched Sgt. Terrell Tardy, 212th Military Police Detachment, Human Resources noncommissioned officer-in-charge. Tardy has seen the impact of losing a Family member to war as his wife has lost relatives in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"It hurt her a lot," said Tardy. "So, I felt her pain as her husband."
Being a Soldier in uniform at a Memorial Day observance was special, said Tardy, especially being in an area like the National Capital Region that has so much history. He also said the observance reminded him of why he enlisted.
"You wake up every day, put on the uniform and go do your job," said Tardy."At the same time, there are Soldiers on the battlefield losing their lives and fighting for our freedom. So, I appreciate their sacrifice and the ultimate goal of protecting the world."
Remembering why our country continues to enjoy the freedoms it does is why it's important we remember the servicemembers responsible for those freedoms, according to Goltz.
"The Army outdates the Nation, so the price of freedom has been paid by every generation who has served," said Goltz. "That's why it's important we honor them. If it wasn't for the servicemembers being willing to do what we do for the last 200 years, our country wouldn't be what it is today."
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