Davenport, Iowa -- Col. David Sears, Army Sustainment Command's deputy chief of staff for G3/5/7, Rock Island Arsenal, Ill., participated in the Memorial Day ceremony May 30 in Memorial Park. The cemetery has set several acres aside to provide burial sites for local veterans and their families. It also hosts such events as the All Era Veterans Healing Fields and the Vietnam Veterans' Moving Wall.
The ceremony took place at the All Veteran's Memorial, a permanent set of panels, benches, and a flagpole, located within the cemetery. The memorial, dedicated to "every man, woman, and child who unselfishly gave their lives, their time, and their loved ones" so Americans can live in peace, was designed, funded, and built by local veterans, said Bob Brooks, an Army veteran and Memorial Day event organizer.
Sears gave the keynote speech at the 30-minute ceremony that also included an honor guard, an introduction by Brooks, a benediction by the Rev. Jim Olsen, a rifle salute, and a wreath laying. Olsen was originally scheduled to help Sears lay the wreath at the foot of the flagpole, but when the time came, he walked over to retired Command Sgt. Maj. Paul Herrera, Davenport, and asked him to do the honors.
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