City Remembers Veterans' Sacrifices
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"The act of donning a uniform is a deeply symbolic act," said Lt. Col. Michael Hynes to the bundled-up crowd clustered around the Veterans Memorial on Route 2. "It is an act that expresses a deep and selfless commitment in the idea we call America."
Hynes, a graduate of Drury High School who enlisted in the Army in 1980, recalled the dedication and service of four particular servicemen: Sgt. 1st Class Paul Smith, Pfc. Stephen Sanford, Marine Cpl. Jason Dunham and Lt. Michael Murphy.
Smith held off an attacking force outside Baghdad, sacrificing himself to save his comrades; Sanford was shot several times while trying to recover wounded comrades, holding off snipers then doing CPR on a wounded man until he passed out from loss of blood; Murphy placed himself in peril to call for help when his patrol was discovered by the Taliban in the mountains of Afghanistan and was mortally wounded as the helicopter rescue arrived; and Dunham threw himself over a grenade released by an insurgent in Kabul, shielding his colleagues with his body.
All extraordinary acts, but not surprising to those who've worn the uniform, said Hynes, battalion commander of the 114th Signal Battalion at Fort Derick, Md. "We are awed by their strength but not surprised. We expect our comrades to be strong and hard ... this strength is truly the strength of America."
That strength transcends changes in war, policy, uniforms and equipment, he said. Rather, it's a tradition of patriotism that's felt by every veteran, "an enduring quality" that was the same 200 years ago and that will continue a hundred years from now.
"Ordinary men and women have been performing extraordinary duty ... to sacrifice for others they may never know or may not agree with. Our veterans have taken the idea of a free nation and turned it into the reality of a free nation."
Yet even as GIs consistently top public opinion polls as among the most admired people in the nation, their sacrifices are too often forgotten, said Larry Brothers, District 1 commander of the American Legion.
