Great Bend’s Memorial Day services were held Monday at the Veterans Circle in the Great Bend Cemetery. This year’s program was coordinated by the Disabled American Veterans Chapter 27. Terry W. Young, past department commander of Kansas DAV, was master of ceremonies.
“Across our nation this Memorial Day, our citizens and veterans will gather to pay homage to America’s finest men and women who gave their lives in defense of freedom,” Young said. “Honored will be those who gave what Abraham Lincoln called the ‘last full measure of devotion’ in the fight for our liberty.
“It is worth noting that our nation was at war 320 years ago as the American Revolution ended in 1783, and it was 200 years ago when our soldiers were dying on the battlefield in the War of 1812.
“It was 150 years ago, in 1863, after the greatest battle ever fought on American soil, that Lincoln uttered the words of the Gettysburg Address as our nation dedicated ‘a portion of that field as a final resting place for those who gave their lives so our nation might live.’
“Seventy years ago, more Americans were dying in World War II. In 1953, we ended the Korean War. In 1973, we ended the Vietnam War.
“And perhaps next year, we end the fighting in Afghanistan.
“Wars are not without glory. They are not without heroes. But they bring such wretched loss of loved ones,” he said.
“The saying that they gave all their tomorrows so that we could have our todays is certainly most true on Memorial Day.”
Young went on to comment, “The men and women we honor today were real people — sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, wives and husbands. They were strong and vibrant. They loved and were loved. And they are missed. ... Today is a solemn day of remembrances, a day that should be properly set aside for contemplation. Ask yourself where you would be without the personal sacrifice made by these men and women.”
The next generation
Young concluded by saluting the growing number of woman veterans.
“With women making up 17 percent of those serving, they are in harm’s way. With recent Department of Defense regulations, even more will enter the fray as frontline troops. Now is the time for our nation to serve and honor them equally,” he said.
“However, our nation must develop new and innovative programs to care for and comfort the women of war. We must be prepared to care for both ‘he’ and ‘she’ who have borne the battle.
“It is one more remarkable testament to how special today’s generation is and continues to be. They, like so many in America’s history, are putting themselves in harm’s way for you, for me and for our culture.”
Program notes
The invocation and benediction were given by Katharine Piper, chaplain of DAV Chapter 27.
Veterans were represented by the American Legion Post 180 and the post’s American Legion Riders, Auxiliary and Sons of American Legion; Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3111 and its Auxiliary; and Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) Sons of the Plains Chapter. Also represented or remembered by Girl Scout Troop 11109 and Boy Scout Troop 184 were DAV Chapter 27; Prisoners of War/Missing in Action; Ladies of the Grand Army of the Republic; Daughters of the American Revolution; Spanish American War; World War I Barracks No. 2109 and its Auxiliary; Boys Scouts of America and Girl Scouts of America.
Marc Webster played “Taps” on trumpet as a salute to the deceased. The program then adjourned to the Arkansas River bridge on south Main Street for a ceremony to honor those who died at sea. Webster performed “Anchors Away” before a moment of silence followed by Young’s reading of “Eulogy for a Veteran.” Service organization representatives released wreaths into the river and Webster again played “Taps.”
