Over 100 Gather Between Rains For Memorial Day Ceremony
The brick in front of the Veterans Memorial at Courthouse Square was still soaked from the rain, which had stopped just in time for the annual Memorial Day ceremony this past Monday. It was anyone’s guess if the weather would hold out for the entire ceremony, so the crowd of about 110 came prepared with rain coats and umbrellas.
“I think those people deserve a lot of credit for coming out this morning for an uncertain welcoming from the skies,” said retired Navy Commander Rich Hastings after the ceremony. Hastings is a member of the George C. Marshall Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America, which sponsors the annual ceremony.
“We have had several Memorial Day rain situations where it has been touch and go, making us wonder if we should cancel or not, he said. “We always go ahead with it and somehow miraculously we seem to be lucky.”
Retired Col. Mark Bryant, president of the local MOAA chapter who served as master of ceremonies, said in his opening remarks, “Today these brave Americans are remembered as those who served a cause greater than themselves. We can no longer thank them for their service, as we do our fellow veterans who are still with us. We cannot ever compensate them or their loved ones for the sacrifice they’ve given for us. What we can do is remember them.”
An honor guard from E.C. Glass High School Air Force JROTC presented the colors and local musician Peter Del Vecchio played the National Anthem on trumpet.
The invocation was given by the Rev. Anita Mays Lucord of Trinity United Methodist Church, and in it she said, “We call upon you to give us comfort and we pray an extra portion of your divine peace and comfort for families who have lost loved ones, and for veterans who continue to grieve the loss of friends, comrades, brothers and sisters in service.”
Following the invocation, all in attendance were treated to a patriotic song medley Del Vecchio played on trumpet. It featured songs like “America the Beautiful” and “The Caissons Go Rolling Along.” Lexington Mayor Frank Friedman spoke next.
Friedman gave a brief history of Memorial Day and expressed gratitude “to all who have served our country in uniform. We are grateful for your service and for all you have done to keep Lexington, Virginia, and these United States safe and strong in freedom. Yet our purpose today is to remember all those who gave their lives in war.”
He spoke of Woody Williams, a Medal of Honor recipient, who “devoted his time and resources to recognizing, honoring, and serving Gold Star families by establishing Gold Star Memorials across the United States. The Woody Williams Foundation has installed 155 memorials, including one here in Lexington at Jordans Point. That memorial honors the lives, memories, and families of Capt. Drew Ross and First Lt. Stephen Chase Prasnicki. I invite you to visit this memorial and reflect on the lives of Drew and Chase, and of all who made the ultimate sacrifice. Today, we pause to mourn the loss and unfulfilled promise of personal heroes Terry Plunk, VMI class of 1988, our native sons Drew Ross and Chase Prasnicki, and those each of you carry in your hearts. We honor their unwavering commitment to God and country, and we lift up, with gratitude, the families they left behind.”
Friedman also made it a point to “extend the right hand of fellowship to retired First Sgt. Matthew P. Eversmann, Woody and Lori Sadler, Rich Hastings, Clyde Mull, Cotton Puryear, Mike Lennon, Wilson Hopkins, Bob Hopkins, Carroll Comstock, Ralph Caldroney, Marti Bissell, Brett Barraclaugh, and all the women and men who embrace and live out the motto ‘service above self.’ We remain grateful for their leadership, for their dedication to duty, and for their service to our community and to our country!”
Two wreaths were laid at the Veterans Memorial. The first was laid on behalf of the VFW by retired Air Force Lt. Col. Bob Hopkins and his nephew Marine Maj. Wilson Hopkins. The second wreath, on behalf of MOAA, was laid by retired Army Col. Mark Bryant and Hastings. “Taps In Echo” was performed by Del Vecchio and Sammy Eastwood.
It began to drizzle lightly as the wreaths were being laid but even those without rain protection stayed, showing their reverence to “all those who gave their lives in war,” as Friedman said.
“Let us be ever mindful and never forget our sordid history and the fabric of those Americans that came before us who fought and sacrificed in search of a more perfect union,” he said. “And let this Memorial Day unite us as Americans.”
