The Village of Stryker joined communities across America on Memorial Day in pausing to take stock of the cost of the freedoms that we enjoy today. A simple ceremony of powerful significance marked the occasion for this proud community at Oak Ridge Cemetery on the morning of May 26.
After the arrival of the colors being presented by members of the Yackee-Strong Memorial Post #60 of the Stryker American Legion, the first order of business carried forth pertained to Resolution 288, which was approved at 67th American Legion Convention. That resolution called for an appropriately decorated, empty POW-MIA chair to be placed at any and all American Legion functions, and on this day that chair was placed in the Oak Hill Circle of Honor.
Following the invocation brought by Mr. Frank Smith, the Pledge of Allegiance was recited. The Stryker High School Band, under the direction of Mr. Dustin Maroon, performed ‘America’, after which two members of the band, snare percussionist Trevin Rhoades and flautist Amy Chappuis, came forward to respectively recite The Gettysburg Address and the WWI poem, ‘In Flanders Fields’.
The Stryker High School Band then performed ‘America the Beautiful’, after which the keynote speaker, First Sergeant Roger Jolly of the United State Army, a member of the Stryker Class of 1981, was introduced. Mr. Jolly recalled his days in Stryker, and gesturing to the band he pointed out his days as a trombonist in what was then known as the Big Brass Machine.
Mr. Jolly said that he did not want to focus on figures and numbers during his speech, he wanted to focus on a single word…’willing’. “When you think about our nation’s brightest and best young people, willing to die to defend values, these same young people who enlist willingly were full of dreams and hopes for the future,” he said. “But they were willing to put their dreams and their hopes on hold to defend these values.”
Mr. Jolly’s speech was as educational as it was inspiring. He noted that the word ‘leadership’ was also an acronym used to help young soldiers memorize the seven core values of the United States Army…loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage. After a while, he said, it becomes less a memorization drill and more a way of life. “These same values are the core values that built this great nation, and fortunately, these same values live on in today’s armed forces. Tragically, they are nearly non-existent in our nation’s capitol today.”
Mr. Jolly went on to speak of the origins of what we today know as Memorial Day. He traced the beginnings back to the time of the Civil War where the grieving daughters and mothers of the Confederacy were visiting Friendship Cemetery in Columbus, Mississippi to clean up the grave sites of their fallen soldiers, many of which that received mortal wounds at the Battle of Pittsburg Landing (a.k.a. Shiloh) the year prior. Noting that no one was tending to the graves of the fallen Union troops, these ladies took it upon themselves to honor the dead of both sides of the war, and tended to those gravesites as well as those of their own. Beginning in 1863, it became an annual April 25th tradition in 1866, and was the eventual foundation upon which that which we all call Memorial Day was established in 1882.
In conclusion, Mr. Jolly said, “We must be determined to assure that those who serve and return to us, receive proper care and compensation for their wounds and infirmities. To properly honor our dead, we must honor our living. The defenders of this nation and her values have willingly fulfilled their obligations to us.”
A Flag and Floral salute under the auspices of the Ladies Auxiliary of the Stryker Legion took place. A wreath and flag was placed upon each war monument in the Circle of Honor as part of this ceremony which concluded with the playing of the Star Spangled Banner by the Stryker High School band.
The salute to departed comrades, the most solemn portion of the ceremonies, then took place under the command of the Rifle Squad of Post #60. A 21-gun salute was followed by a bugle solo of ‘Taps’.
Although the ceremonies officially concluded at that point, Stryker Mayor Dan Hughes was called to the podium. Mayor Hughes read from an official proclamation honoring local Marines veteran Michael R. Sanford, a Purple Heart recipient who served two tours in Vietnam. Sanford received other citations, including the Presidential Unit Citation, the Good Conduct Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, the National Defense Medal, and in 2004, the Order of the Silver Rose. Mayor Hughes proclaimed this day to be a Day of Remembrance and Prayer in honor of Sanford, and all American military veterans.
Prior to departure, it was announced to the Legion members that they would be reconvening in about fifteen minutes, in order to provide the military rites for Mr. Fred Clair. Mr. John Clair came forward to thank the members of Post #60 for their respect and consideration on behalf of his father.
It is not the first time that a funeral requiring military rites took place on a Memorial Day, but it does prove a basic point that anyone who has served would be quick to agree to. Memorial Day services are not all ‘show’. These services encompass the ‘all’ who have served and gone on before us. Mr. Clair was honored by Post #60 in this service for all, then was honored individually by the same unit at his funeral shortly afterward. It’s not about ‘show’…it’s about service, and the recognition of that service.
It is all about service from all parties that, to borrow the theme from Mr. Jolly, was entered into…willingly.
