Fort Huachuca, Arizona - More than 700 military and civilians gathered at the Fort Huachuca Cemetery Monday morning to honor those who have paid the ultimate price, losing their lives for our country.
The Memorial Day ceremony was an emotional event for those in attendance. The crowd remained mostly silent throughout the two-hour event.
Maj. Gen. Robert Ashley, commanding general, U.S .Army Intelligence Center of Excellence and Fort Huachuca, spoke of the day, stating, "It is my honor to have worn the uniform of a Soldier for the past 31 years and it is a privilege to speak to you today at this historic resting place in the presence of those who have served our nation.
"In this hallowed spot stands a monument to character and to selfless service. A home to men and women willing to give their all and lay down their lives to preserve and to protect our way of life. On Memorial Day we honor all those brave men and women who fell, those who survived, and the loved ones they left behind."
The traditional wreath laying took place by Ashley and Command Sgt. Maj. Jeffery Fairley, command sergeant major, USAICoE. Other organizations also participated in the special tribute to the fallen Soldiers by laying memorial wreaths, the Widowed Support Center, Gold Star Families and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9972.
"I lost my son in Iraq in January 2007 and so I'm doing it for all of us who have lost, and in my case, my son," said Gold Star member Kristin Lawson, "It's just to honor him. Memorial Day is all about honoring our fallen."
"This day we honor the sacrifice made by those who have given their lives to spread the blessings of liberty and lay the foundations of peace but rather than mourn their loss, I would rather remember the words of George Patton," Ashley said. "He said it is foolish and wrong to mourn the man who died, rather we should thank God that such men lived, so let me take a little creative license with Patton's words and instead we should thank God that such men and women lived and thank the moms and dads and grandmothers and grandfathers who raised them."
Ashley ended his Memorial Day message with reading a poem titled "A Soldier's Way." Comrade Francis H.J. Mac Donnell, Veterans of Foreign Wars, read the Grand Army of the Republic General Order 11. The ceremony was then closed with a 21-gun salute.
One family that attended the ceremony said they come to pay their respects. "I lost a few friends in Iraq a few years ago and we just wanted to instill something good in them," (meaning his three children,) said William Trickett. "We want to teach them the real meaning of Memorial Day; it's not about barbecues and things like that."
In the early morning hours, before the ceremony, boy scouts from Fort Huachuca Troop 431 and girl scouts from Fort Huachuca Troop 9095 were busy placing approximately 3,500 flags in front of all of the gravestones.
Yvonne Markin, troop leader for Girl Scout Troop 9095, said the group was there, "to honor the fallen Soldiers. It is important because … we also need to teach the young ones respect for that because, especially being a military community, they need to grow up and learn freedom isn't free."
Nichole Pulver, Girl Scout Troop 9095 leader and Cub Scout Pack 431 Fort Huachuca's committee chair, said, "We're out here because all of our kids are military affiliated so they need to know the importance of the sacrifice that people make for the country.
"Also all over the nation a lot of people who are civilians they're out doing barbecues today and we're doing this. I always tell my kids 'yeah, it's good to go out and celebrate but we also need to remember,' so this is our way of remembering."
Later in the day more than 400 people gathered at Southern Arizona Veterans' Memorial Cemetery to pay their respects. The keynote speaker, Arizona Congresswoman Martha McSally, opened by saying, "I'll open with what I said on the floor of the house this week, I hope we have had and will continue to have a meaningful Memorial Day. So I'll start with one of my two pet peeves about Memorial Day. The first is when people say 'Happy Memorial Day' and go shopping. This is about those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, this is about honoring the dead, this is about those who served and fought and died for our freedoms so that we have the freedom to come today … because those freedoms do not come free."
"So my first pet peeve is when people say 'Happy Memorial Day,' and I'd ask you to consider changing language to 'Have a meaningful Memorial Day,'" McSally added.
"The second thing is, most people are not paying attention to this, a lot of people are on summer breaks, and having barbecues and again, those are wonderful things.
"We have the freedom to do those things because of the brave [men and women] who served and died, but a lot of people confuse Veterans Day and Memorial Day. I often see people out there, they are being attentive and they say 'Thank you for your service.' That's [for] Veterans Day. Veterans Day is for the living, Veterans Day is for those who raised our right hand and came back by God's grace … but Memorial Day is to honor those who died," McSally said.
"And there's a very important distinction, although I appreciate people saying 'Thank you for your service.' It's so important for us to remember as a country and as a community that the cost is so high for the freedoms that we have today. The direct cost of those who died in combat since the beginning of our country is around 1.3 million who died in direct combat and so we are here today to honor those who came before us," she added.
McSally also touched on Agent Orange survivors who have been suffering from serving and have died from complications after returning home. She also discussed the need to honor those with emotional wounds of war and how they suffer from psychological wounds, as well as those who died in training. "Those casualties and deaths must be honored, we need to honor those today, McSally said. We have to remember all of them. [There were] so many more than just those who died in direct combat and we have to make sure we honor them."
McSally and Sierra Vista Mayor Rick Mueller placed the memorial wreath in front of the crowd while taps played in the background.
After the memorial ceremony, attendees were invited to witness the unveiling of a new monument at the cemetery.
The sun began to set as the memorial was unveiled. The large slab of granite with names inscribed on it is to memorialize the fallen from southeast Arizona during the Global War on Terrorism. The names of those who paid the ultimate price were read aloud during the unveiling.
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