Clarksburg, Lanesborough Remember the Missing & Fallen for Memorial Day
Joseph Bushika salute as Laurie Boudreau sings the national anthem during at Town Hall. See more photos here.
Memorial Day is in particular a day to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice, said Joseph Bushika of Peter A. Cook VFW Post 9144.
"Any veteran will tell you that the real heroes are the ones that didn't survive, the ones that died on the battlefield, those that sacrificed their lives for their country," he said.
Of the thousands who fell overseas during World War I and later, many were able to be shipped home to be buried by their loved ones. Many more were buried where they fell across Europe, Africa, the Far East and islands in the Pacific, Bushika said.
"Hundreds of sailors and Marines were buried at sea, loved ones unable to be at their sides to pay their last respects," he continued. "Such is the price of freedom and liberty."
Nearly 79,000 military personnel are listed missing in World War II, almost 20 percent of those killed during the war, and more than 8,000 went missing in Korea and more than 2,200 in Vietnam.
He asked that the gathering consider what it must have been like for mothers and fathers, waiting to find out what had happened to their sons and daughters and, for some, never knowing the final fate of their loved ones.
Thousands of missing soldiers, sailors and airmen remain missing in action, particularly from the wars of the 19th century.
Advances in forensic science has brought "much-needed closure for families throughout the United States," Bushika said, but many others will never know. "Perhaps these lost souls none only to God will come home once they are identified and be reunited with their families and their hometowns ... and be given the honors they truly deserve."
Town Administrator Carl McKinney spoke on behalf of the town, saying, "today is a day of solemn gratitude, gratitude to those who have fought for our nation and in so doing have paid the ultimate price protecting our freedoms our liberties and our democracy. They have paid a price that we can never repay. Let these services today uphold the duty and commitment of we who remain."
Select Board Chair Jeffrey Levanos and Cecilia Kincaid read poems and Kincaid gave the Gettysburg Address. Leyla Kincaid rang the bell as Bushika read of the names of those from Clarksburg who lost their lives in the nation's wars since the Civil War.
The Drury High School band played a number of patriotic tunes and Laurie Boudreau sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" and "America the Beautiful"; the Clarksburg Volunteer Fire Company provide and honor guard and gave the salute.
Lanesborough firefighter and Navy veteran Michael McBride gives the keynote speech at Center Cemetery. More photos here.
Among those who marched were the Mount Greylock Regional School band, members of the town's Fire Department and local Boy Scouts, who carried a wreath to be laid on the cemetery of a deceased service member during the annual memorial service.
That service featured opening and closing benedictions from the Rev. Richard Wilson, who was introduced by new Town Manager Gina Dario.
"Heavenly father, we are so grateful for the brave men and women who paid the ultimate price, they paid the ultimate sacrifice, so that we can live in freedom," Wilson said. "Father, we thank you for each and every one and for their families. And, Lord, I'm sure there are many veterans here today who had fellow soldiers fall to their death in battle.
"Father, comfort them, comfort all of us."
One of the veterans in attendance, Mike McBride, delivered the keynote remarks at the service.
McBride, who last year was named the town's Firefighter of the Year, served in the Navy as a combat search and rescue medic in Middle East during Operation Desert Shield and in Somalia during Operation Restore Hope.
For his text, McBride chose the essay, "The Fallen Soldier," by retired Navy Seal and podcaster and leadership coach Jocko Willink.
"This Memorial Day, remember me — the fallen warrior," the essay reads in part. "And remember me not for my sake, but for yours. Remember what I sacrificed so you can truly appreciate the incredible treasures you have: Life. Liberty. The pursuit of happiness.
"You have the joys of life — the joys that I gave up so that you can relish in them: a cool wind in the air … the gentle spring grass on your bare feet ... the warm summer sun on your face. Family. Friends. And freedom. Never forget where it all came from. It came from sacrifice — the supreme sacrifice."
Tags: Memorial Day,
