Honoring The Fallen On Memorial Day
By Bill McLaughlin Berkeley Times
--Photo By Bill McLaughlin Local dignitaries were on hand to honor the fallen during Berkeley's Memorial Day ceremonies.
A larger crowd than usual dotted the grounds of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9503 on Memorial Day morning.
The dozens of men, women and children, including a number of Cub Scouts in uniform, had a lot on their minds.
Some lost loved ones in past wars, others have dealt with casualties of another kind. Some will say goodbye soon to the thousands of Iraq War call-ups, and others still mourn their dead from two incursions into Iraq.
Councilman Nat Abbe told the crowd to think positive thoughts even on such a somber day. Abbe asked the dead be remembered in the good times, the happy times. He said the war dead went off to war and made a positive contribution toward a better world.
Former state VFW Commander Donald Marshall spoke of the here and now of remembering Americans still fighting a far-off war.
"Isn't it ironic that thousands of New Jersey troops will ship out the day before Father's Day," Marshall said in measured tones, "and Congress left town before Memorial Day without funding the Iraq War? At the end of June, there will be no more dollars left to fund the Army."
Marshall said those priorities and others, like fully funding a GI Bill for 21st century warriors, must have slipped the legislators' minds.
"They decided, 'Let's save some families hit by a tornado' or those bothered by a hurricane," Marshall said. "Well, we have two Senators and 13 legislators. Let's take action and write them about how indignant we are at what they did this week."
Marshall asked everyone to spread the word that this slap in the fast jeopardizes the safety of our troops overseas.
Councilwoman Karen Davis read a letter from a soldier in Iraq to his mother telling how much he loved her and understood what he was fighting for. Shortly before the scheduled end of his tour of duty, the solider was killed in action.
Chaplain Larry Kelly prayed for both the living and dead veterans of all wars and made special mention of those currently fighting overseas, giving support to troops who have already served two or three tours of duty.