Veterans and their families were joined by state senators and the mayor for the Memorial Day Ceremony at American Legion Post 29 as they honored those who lost their lives in the line of duty.
"We just tried to pay respect to deceased veterans along with those who were missing in action and POWs," said Junior Ford, post commander. "We also wanted to recognize the past service members that were here and we recognized each branch of service. It is just a memorial service to the veterans and that is what the legion does. It is veterans serving veterans, that is what we try to do and we were just trying to honor them today."
The audience was about the same size as last year's event, Ford said. This year those in attendance were serenaded by three young ladies from the Panther Singers, a choir from Siloam Springs High School. The group was lead by Julianna Tufts as they sang "Proud to be an American" and the "Battle Hymn Republic."
They were also joined by guest speakers state Sen. Jon Woods (R-Springdale) and state Sen. Jim Hendren (R-Gravette). The pair were introduced by Mayor John Turner.
"I have done this ever since I have been mayor and it has been an honor," Turner said. "Memorial Day is a special time and I think it has been diluted by the fact that people don't know what Memorial Day stands for, they think it is just another holiday. We are remembering those who have fought and died to preserve our freedoms and the rights we have."
While Woods spoke of the friends from Siloam Springs he has lost in conflict, Hendren spoke about the first Americans who lost their lives in the Boston Massacre and the most recent deaths in Iraq from the War on Terror and humanitarian efforts in Nepal.
"There is no one I enjoy talking to more than the American Legion and VFW groups," Hendren said. "That is why I spoke at a ceremony at 10 a.m. in Gravette and I hurried down here to get to this one at 11. ... I love speaking to people who see the importance of taking care of the troops. The legion here in Siloam Springs does one of the best jobs of any that I have been to. They are one of the most organized, patriotic (groups) and they are just great people."
Hendren also talked about the cost of war in terms of lives lost and money spent.
"There is tremendous cost incurred when we ask these people (veterans) to go and come back with horrible injuries that change their lives forever," he said. "We have an obligation to take care of them. There is psychological damage, there is physical damage and emotional damage, there is damage to families. It is a tremendous cost and politicians need to weigh the cost when they go wading into these conflicts. It is easy for people to forget the cost and just go get in the middle of these things."
Both speakers brought up the origin of Memorial Day from the Civil War after Maj. Gen. John A. Logan declared May 30 as Decoration Day in 1868 to morn and honor the dead from the war. However, neither mentioned that the holiday predated Logan's order by nearly three years by freed slaves in South Carolina that wanted to honor the Union soldiers who died fighting for their freedom. That information was recently reported by Jim Downs of the History News Network, and was later republished by Time magazine.
General News on 05/27/2015