Memorial Day speakers say service woven into fabric of country

It is a misnomer to use happy Memorial Day as a greeting because while it is a day of remembrance, it is a somber one, reflecting of those veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice, said retired U.S. Army Col. Kenneth Sullivan.

Sullivan, guest speaker for Sunday’s Memorial Day ceremony, said when he was leaving church earlier in the day that a woman had wished him a happy Memorial Day.

Her intentions were good, he said.

“I didn’t want to correct her,” Sullivan added. “However, this is not a happy Memorial Day. This is a memorial for people who lost their lives in combat. It is happy Veterans Day and happy Armed Forces Day and happy Fourth of July, but Memorial Day is not happy.

“Sorry for that history lesson, but we have a whole generation that does not know the difference.”

Most of the seats set up for Sunday’s Memorial Day ceremony were empty, but that did not deter the few, most of whom were veterans themselves, from paying tribute to those who have fallen in combat.

About 25 people attended the annual ceremony sponsored by Mount Olive VFW Post 9959 held near the flagpole in Oakview (Maplewood) Cemetery.

On the day prior, volunteers placed small U.S. flags on the graves of veterans in the cemetery.

A large tent provided some relief from the afternoon heat during the event that lasted about 30 minutes and included a wreath-laying ceremony and lowering of the flag to half-staff.

Sullivan, a Post 9959 member, said it was an honor and a privilege to be asked to speak at the ceremony.

Speaking on opportunity, legacy, purpose and patriotism, Sullivan noted that people join the military for difference reasons.

He joked that some were running from the law while others were tired of their hometown.

“But there is a universal understanding that once you raise that right hand that service means sacrifice — even if that is your own life,” he continued. “We all know friends that we lost in different places. We remember them to this day and the situation as clear as day.

“But the impact of service ripples through our communities. A service member’s death — it touches more than just the lives of loved ones, friends and family members. When their stories are shared in our neighborhoods, homes and our schools and places of worship — these men and women become a part of our collective identity.”

Their stories live on in the pride and memories of their loved ones, at observances like Mount Olive’s Memorial Day event, inscriptions on memorials, plaques dedicated to their legacy of their generation, Sullivan continued.

Woven into the fabric of our country are those who died while wearing the cloth of our nation, and they continue to instill a sense of pride in citizens and inspire new generations to raise their hands to service, Sullivan said.

“There is no greater sacrifice than to offer one’s life for the greater good,” he said.

Sullivan quoted comments made more than 150 years ago by President Lincoln during the Civil War: “This extraordinary war in which we are engaged falls heavily upon all classes of people, but the most heavily upon the soldier. For it has been said, all that a man hath will he give for his life; and while all contribute of their substance the soldier puts his life at stake, and often yields it up in his country’s cause. The highest merit, then is due to the soldier.”

It is not just at home where the fallen are remembered, the tributes begin at the very spots were they gave their lives for the brothers and sisters they served with and for their country, Sullivan said.

Tributes include the Battlefield Cross, which started during the Civil War and is a helmet resting on an upside down rifle with the boots in front and dog tags (called service identity tags during the Civil War) hanging from it, he continued.

In recent years, tributes have grown to include ramp ceremonies — part of the dignified transfer and solemn return of a service member’s remains from the theater of war back to the U.S. and their loved one, Sullivan said.

However, some of those who died have not made it back home, he said.

“We honor them is such ways as the missing man table,” he explained. “In the VFW, and probably the American Legion, there is a table that sits over in the corner that has an empty place setting.

“All the things on that table signify that missing man, but it is an opportunity to think about those who are still missing in action or are still POW’s.”

The U.S. does not just remember and reflect, it acts by continuing to look for those missing soldiers in order to honor them for their sacrifice, he said.

The U.S. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency sends teams all over the world to search land and sea to recover the remains of those who haven’t returned home, Sullivan said, offering as an example, people like Cpl. Thomas Cooper who was killed in 1943 during the Battle of Tarawa in the Pacific.

In 2019, some 76 years after his death, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency identified his remains along with those of 93 others.

The remains were in a national cemetery in Hawaii, basically an unknown soldier burial situation, Sullivan said.

“He was brought home decades after his death,” he added. “Cpl. Cooper’s family members were able to bury him in Arlington National Cemetery in March 2020.

“We are still looking for the rest. This agency estimates there are 81,600 service members missing.”

Among those are 41,000 assumed lost at sea in the Indonesia-Pacific region, he said.

Some of those missing were killed when the unmarked Japanese merchant ships they were being transported on were sunk by U.S. attacks, Sullivan said.

The U.S. military had no way of knowing that U.S. POW’s were on the ships that were thought to carry only Japanese military and supplies, he continued.

It is estimated that 1,500 men died of heat and thirst in ship holds or were killed by Japanese guards.

Another 19,000 are thought to have died when the U.S. Navy or Air Force carried out attacks on the ships.

“We must continue to share their stories to remember what they sacrificed for the rest of us,” Sullivan said. “Few men and women these days put their lives on the line to serve and defend the Constitution.

“Few go toward danger. Few willingly sacrifice and face atrocities that most of us can’t imagine. Few volunteer to serve knowing that death may be the outcome.”

However, even today Vietnam-era veterans are dying from the effects of Agent Orange or other issues not treated properly 50 years ago, he continued.

The things they are dying from are just the same as if they had died in Vietnam, Sullivan said.

“But we can make sure that those who make the choice to serve and make the ultimate sacrifice can rest knowing they served with the thanks of a grateful nation and citizens that live here knowing that they won’t be forgotten.”

James Benson, interim post commander, gave the welcome and lead the Pledge of Allegiance.

Chaplain John Moore gave the invocation.

“Since WWI the country has lost over 600,000 active military in combat situations who have died on active duty — 600,000,” Moore said prior to the invocation. “To put that a little bit in context we only have 1.2 million active duty members right now.

“So, that means half, if that were to happen right now, half of what we have on active duty would be gone. It is something to think about, to reflect on with positivist.”

Before giving closing the service with his benediction, Moore read “In Flanders Fields.”