June 2006
REMEMBERING AND HONORING OUR FALLEN COMRADES
Memorial Day 2006 was significant. I attended a program at the American Legion Hall in Valley Springs, SD. Gordy Swanson, a friend of mine, was the guest speaker. Gordy is the deputy attorney of our county and an Army veteran. He spoke of the essence of service and sacrifice being an integral part of a great nation. My thoughts drifted to the memorial ceremony at the Dahlonega Mountain Training Ranger Camp on 13 May 2006 when Johnston Dunlop was one of the six LRRP/Rangers honored for their service and ultimate sacrifice. We had a great turnout; it was a marvelous opportunity to offer our respect, admiration and gratitude to a highly regarded warrior.
On September 15 and 16, 2006, the citizens and Governor of South Dakota will be honoring the state’s Vietnam War veterans. A seven-foot bronze statue will be dedicated. This memorial statue will join the assemblage of bronze statutes honoring the World War II and Korean War veterans. The traveling Vietnam Wall will be present along with Huey helicopters and weapons and equipment of the era. The planned events include: a memorial parade, dedication ceremony, concerts from 1960s and 1970s era bands, disability and health services, counseling and locator services, and USO tents. The organizers published the following communiqué:
Unlike many American veterans, the Vietnam veterans had no parades, no handshakes, and no “welcome home” ceremonies. Such celebrations were replaced by anti-war protestors who projected their hatred of the war upon our nation’s military men and women – inflicting wounds far worse than those of the enemy. More than 30 years later, many Vietnam veterans still suffer from those wounds, but most have moved on with their lives knowing they did their best to do an honorable thing in a difficult time in American history. South Dakota is extending a healing handshake of appreciation and gratitude to the veterans who have so richly deserved it for almost four decades.
All generations of Americans ought to reflect upon the freedom and the security and the peace we enjoy today. It did not come without great sacrifice. The losses that we have had in Iraq and Afghanistan emphasize the profoundness of sacrifices that have been made and are being made. Let us not let up in our support of our troops.