GRAND FORKS, ND (trfnews.i234.me) The Grand Forks American Legion, Post #6 Memorial Day Service at Memorial Park.
be confused at the East Grand Forks hahahaha okay we’re pleased to have you join us in memory of the men and women who in the service to our nation secured our freedoms we enjoy today please turn off or silence your cellular phones or other electronic communication devices we will be getting shortly thank you very much [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] test you three four two two three four three two three four what the warmer spots are in the chairs up here please feel free to come on up and take a chair as we gather together as a community of varied backgrounds and cultures today’s ceremony also consists of volunteers from any organization be beyond your Grand Forks American Legion Post six hosts they include the Grand Forks American Legion unit six auxilary the Grand Forks American Legion uner unit six auxilary juniors the Grand Forks Air Force Base honor guard as our firing party this morning Grand Forks chapter two disabled american veterans auxilary the Grand Forks Veterans of Foreign Wars ladies auxilary post 1874 our guest speaker and vice commander of Grand Forks American Legion Post kathy peterson the grand forks city band which let’s give them another hand please please rise for the presentation of the colors and the playing of our National Anthem by the grand forks city van Gogh guard both the colors [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] as you were please rice again and remove your caps as we receive our implication by Jeff Michael Josh Oh Almighty God and Father and your hands are the living in the dead we give you thanks our comrades our families and our friends well lay down their lives in the service of our country may they truly rest in Europe in peace your peace which surpasses all understanding and may your light shine upon them always may the good work of seeking justice for the oppressed and peace for all mankind be rewarded with success that their sacrifices shall not have been in vain and may we’ve never failed to remember the most awesome cost of freedom that we enjoy all this we ask in your holy and righteous name amen please cover and be seated as we received the readings of in Flanders Fields and in Flanders Fields and answer by Yunus six auxilary Legion Auxiliary junior members Alexis and Aubrey L Kramer in Flanders our place in the sky the larks still bravely singing fly scarce heard amid the guns below we are dead short days ago we lived felt dawn saw sunset glow loved and were loved and now we lie in Flanders shields take up our well with the fall to your to you from failing hands we throw the torch be yours to hold high if break faith with us who die we shall not sleep though poppies grow in Flanders Fields John McCrae and planard filled the cannons bloom and fitfully flashes lights the blue well above the eagles fly the fierce destroyers of the sky with danes the earth where you lie is rather than the poppy blue in Flanders field sleep on your brave the shrieking shell the quaking trench the Starling yell the fury of the hell we shall wake you knock through that all is well sleep peacefully for all as well a flaming torch aloft we bare with burning heart and also we swear to keep the faith to fight it through to crush the foe or sleep with you in Flanders field please rise for the reading of general Logan’s Memorial Day orders by Jay Gunderson headquarters Grand Army of the Republic Washington DC May 5 1862 Lord ur number 11 the 30th day of May 1868 is designated for the purpose of strewing flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in the defense of their country during the late rebellion and whose bodies now lying almost every city village and hamlet churchyard in the land in this observance no former ceremony is prescribed but posts and comrades will in their own way arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit we are organized comrades as a regulations tell us for the purpose among other things of preserving and strengthening those kind and fraternal feelings which have bound together the soldiers sailors and Marines United to suppress the late rebellion what can eight more to assure this result and by cherishing tenderly the memory of our heroic dead who made their breaths a barricade between our country and expose their soldier lives were the revelry of freedom to erase in Chains and their deaths the tattoo of rebellious tyranny in arms we should guard their graves with sacred vigilance all that the consecrated wealth and taste of the nation can add to their adornment and security is but a fitting tribute to the memory of her slain defenders let no wanton foot thread rudely on such hallowed grounds that pleasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent visitors and fond mourners let no vandalism of avarice or neglect no ravages of time testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided Republic if otherwise if other eyes grow dull and other hands slack and other hearts cold in solemn trust our shall keep it well as long as the light and warmth of life remain in us let us then at the time appointed gather around their sacred remains in garland the passionless mounds above them with choicest flowers of springtime let us raise above them the dear old flag they saved from dishonor let us in this solemn presence renew our pledges to aid and assist those who whom they have left among us a secret charge upon the nation’s gratitude the soldiers and sailors widow and orphan it is the purpose of the commander-in-chief to inaugurate this observance with the hope that it will be kept up from year to year while a survivor of the war remains to honor the memory of his departed comrades he earnestly desires the public press to call attention to this order and lend its friendly aid in bringing it to the notice of comrades in all parts of the country in time for simultaneous simultaneous compliance therewith department commanders will use every effort to make this order effective by order of John a Logan commander-in-chief and then P Chipman added antigen general please remain standing as unit six American Legion Auxiliary member Jones Smith and chapter two disabled american veterans auxilary member Jackie Sadler present the Viet Minh the veteran wreaths and honoring of those who served Grand Army of the Republic spanish-american war World War 1 World War two Korean War Vietnam War Grenada Lebanon and Panama Virgen gulf war iraq and afghanistan come conflicts and all who perished on land sea and air thank you ladies veteran to Foreign Wars auxilary 1874 member dev Moriarty shall cast a wreath upon the waters thank you please be seated for the reading now cover them over by unit six American Legion Auxiliary member Diane Kramer and the distribution of poppies by Lauren Simmons cover them over with beautiful flowers deck them with garlands those brothers of ours lying so silent by night and by day sleeping the years of their manhood away give them the need they have won in the past give them the honors their future forecast give them the chaplets of d1 in the strife give them the laurels they lost with their life cover them over yes cover them over parent and husband brother and lower throne in your hearts those dead heroes of ours cover them over with beautiful flowers cover the hearts that have beaten so high beaten with hopes that were doomed but to die hearts that have burned in the heat of the fray hearts that have yearned from the home far away once they were glowing with friendship and love now they’re great souls have gone soaring above bravely their blood to the nation they gave then in her bosom they found them a grave cover the thousands who sleep far away sleep for their friends cannot find them today they who in mountain and Hill site and down rest were they wearied and lie where they fell softly the grass blades creep around their repose sweetly above them the wildflower at blows Zephyrs of freedom a fly gently overhead whispering prayers for the Patriot debt when the long years have rolled slowly away earn them to the dawn of Earth’s funeral day when when at the Angels loud trumpet and tread rise up the faces and forms of the when the green world is last judgment awaits when the blue skies shall fling open its gates and our long columns marked silently through past the great captain for final review blessings for Garland’s shall cover them over parent and husband brother and lover God will reward those dead heroes of ours covered them over with beautiful flowers thank you very much for that fitting memorial we are fortunate today to receive our Memorial Day addressed by Grand Forks bo6 vice commander kathy peterson vice commander captain Peterson continues to serve our nation as a captain in the North Dakota Army National Guard her service within the National Guard began in 2008 in December 2010 she became a commissioned officer in the United States Army through the University of North Dakota Reserve Officer Training Corps program also known as ROTC or ROTC in 2003 she earned a political science baccalaureate in arts degree from Texas A&M University thirsting for knowledge and a drive to serve she earned a Juris Doctorate with distinction for the University of North Dakota in 2011 her military skill qualifications include adjutant general and air defense Artillery her assignments include Brigade strength manager 141st maneuver enhancement Brigade in Fargo battalion personnel officer 188 air defense Artillery in Grand Forks the tune leader alpha battery 1 188 air defense artillery Bismarck battery commander headquarters and headquarters battery 1 188 air defense Artillery Grand Forks battalion assistant operations officer 1 188 air defense Artillery Grand Forks in addition to her military service vice commander Peterson is an immigration attorney here in Grand Forks her additional work experience includes serving on staffs of the United States senators Heitkamp Conrad and organ furthermore the suicide prevention program manager for the North Dakota National Guard and the resilience coordinator for the North Dakota Army National Guard please join me in welcoming captain Peterson thank you for that generous introduction and thank you all for being here today you know it and United they sacrificed just before Election Day in 2018 an American soldier in Afghanistan posted on Facebook he wrote as the USA gets ready to vote in our own election Tuesday I hope everyone back home exercises their precious right to vote and that whether the Republicans or the Democrats win that we all remember that we have far more as Americans that unites us than divides us united we stand divided we fall god bless america end quote the soldier who posted these wise words was a member of the National Guard he was also the mayor of North Ogden Utah although he was described as a crowd Republican his family likely had little interest in actual results of the election when Election Day arrived in Utah so did the honor guard accompanying his remains the flag draped casket of major Brent Taylor husband of one father of seven and inspiration to millions Utah weeps for them today his state’s lieutenant governor wrote of the Taylor family he could have added that his nation wept as well a veteran of two tours in Iraq major Taylor was killed when a cowardly member of the Afghan national security forces opened fire on him during an insider attack near Kabul major Taylor did not need to serve in the military like all US veterans of the global war on terrorism he chose to serve in the military even though many fallen heroes from previous wars may have been conscripted into service there is always a way out for those committed to avoiding such danger On June 6 the world will observe the 75th anniversary of the Normandy invasion many will make the trip to the sandy shores of France paying respects to the thousands of Allied heroes who gave their lives to liberate a continent political labels that we cast today like Democrat Republican red state and blue state matter little once the mines and machine-gun fire while charging a beach politics are irrelevant to a family that hears the words we regret to inform you in fact Joanne Steen a behavioral health counselor and gold star widow recently wrote a book with the same title we regret to inform you to gold star parents she writes the reality that your child is dead comes in doses reality doesn’t have sensitivity or good manners and you may be confronted with a harsh dose when you least expect it likewise reality seems to operate on its own arrival schedule and cope when one witness is the actual reality of heroes dying it is easy to mistake their missions as failed private Andy Rooney who would later achieve fame as a 60 Minutes commentator was a correspondent for Stars and Stripes he interviewed a number of d-day veterans all they saw was dead friends Mooney remembered guys drowning in the water and dead people around them and back in London headquarters they were calling it a great victory a great success it didn’t look like a success to the guys who were fighting it but it turned out it was in fact a success and the guys who were up close and saw it firsthand were wrong and the people who had the grand view of it were right we continue to lose heroes every day in places like Afghanistan Iraq Syria and military training accidents and missions around the world and here at home some were only teenagers many were just in their 20s and others were older regardless of their age to their families their forever young healthy and strong from the American Revolution to our current operations against terrorism 1 million American men and women have made the supreme sacrifice while serving in wars and conflicts we honor all of them not just those with the highest medals or the heroes who fought in the most famous battles and we honor all American men and women who died while in military service whether at home or abroad in peacetime or wartime they all died so we can continue to cherish the things that we love freedom country and family that is why we are gathered here on Memorial Day to honor the memory of our fallen warriors who have give everything for their country we’re also reminded on this day that in each generation brave men and women will always step forward to take up an oath of allegiance as members of America’s armed forces willing to fight and if necessary die for the sake of freedom we do not remember our fallen brothers and sisters and in arms because of an edict or an obligatory ritual we do so because we want to and we want to be there for their families long after the battlefield guns have been silenced and the bombs stop exploding the children of our fallen Warriors will still be missing a parent spouses will continue to miss their life partners parents will never stop grieving for their heroic sons and daughters that died way too early we need to be there for all of them nobody can replace these fallen heroes especially in the eyes of the Romantics but we can offer shoulders to cry on and assurances that their loved ones sacrifice will not be forgotten you
Grand Forks, ND Memorial Day Celebrations
