Five First Army Soldiers served as speakers for Memorial Day ceremonies in the Quad Cities area throughout the holiday weekend.
Maj. Gen. James "Red" Brown, First Army deputy commanding general-operations, spoke at the Dixon, Illinois, community's Memorial Day ceremony Monday.
"Today we gather at cemeteries all over the country, march in parades in cities big and small from California to Virginia and we watch the annual Memorial Day concert on television," Brown said. "We do these things to honor the loyalty and bravery of our fallen in this noble calling -- military service."
Brown also participated in a pre-ceremony parade through downtown, Dixon.
Maj. Gen. Paul Benenati, First Army deputy commanding general-support, spoke at the Memorial Day event honoring Hero Street Soldiers in Silvis, Illinois, Saturday.
"Today we especially remember those eight Hero Street servicemen who gave their lives during World War II and the Korean War," Benenati said. "On Memorial Day, we pay tribute to military members who gave their lives for duty, honor, country. They were ordinary men and women, who rose to the challenge of meeting seemingly impossible odds, time and again, and they accomplished extraordinary things in every corner of the globe."
Command Sgt. Major Sam Young, First Army senior enlisted leader, served as guest speaker at the Orion Memorial Day ceremony in Orion, Illinois, Monday.
"I can see that Orion is instilling a genuine sense of honor and patriotism in its younger generation, ensuring they do not forget the brave men and women who came before them," he said. "On this day, I ask that we reflect -- as a community, and as a nation -- on the sacrifices of those Families who have lost a loved one who was serving in the Armed Forces."
Other First Army Memorial Day speakers were Lt. Col. Moser, plans and operations chaplain, who spoke Monday at Milan American Legion Post 569, in Milan, Illinois and Capt. Kimberly Muhlenbruch, logistics, plans and operations, who spoke Monday at the Blue Grass Memorial Day service in Blue Grass, Iowa.
First Army is a member of the Rock Island Arsenal speaker's bureau which provides military and civilian speakers throughout the Quad Cities and surrounding region.
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