BY DAN HILDEBRAN
Monitor Editor
KEYSTONE HEIGHTS— Around 240 people gathered at the Keystone Heights Cemetery to honor fallen veterans at the Lake Region’s Wreaths Across America event, Saturday, Dec. 18.
This was the first year the Lake Region ceremony was not organized by Joan Jones. Due to declining health, the Australian native and World War II war bride turned the event over to Clay County School Board Member Tina Bullock.
During the ceremony, Keystone Heights Mayor Karen Lake paid tribute to Jones, pointing out a plaque the city installed at the cemetery in Jones’s honor.
A new addition to this year’s program was the Keystone Heights Elementary School chorus, directed by Melissa Mann. The children led the crowd in the National Anthem and sang “On Veteran’s Day”, in addition to “God Bless America” at the end of the ceremony.
Other program participants were Art Tenney from the First Coast Highlanders Band on bagpipes, an invocation and benediction by Pat Lucas of American Legion Post 250 in Middleburg, presentation and retiring of colors by the Keystone Heights Junior-Senior High School JROTC, the Pledge of Allegiance led by American Heritage Girls Troop 7884 in McRae and taps by Roger Smith of AMVETS Post 86.
Bullock said the American Heritage Girls raised more money for wreaths this year than any other group.
Uglier than war
Former Clay County Commissioner and retired U.S. Marine Gayward Hendry delivered the keynote address.
Hendry reminded the crowd that hundreds of other Wreaths Across America ceremonies were simultaneously occurring across the country.
He added that a country that forgets its heroes are worse off than countries with none.
“Poor is the nation that has no heroes that they can honor,” he said. “Even poorer and shameful is the nation that has them but refuses or forgets to honor them.”
Hendry said that as ugly as war is, there is one thing uglier: “The decayed and degraded stage of a country’s moral and patriotic feelings which thinks there is nothing worth going to war for. Where is America on that scale? Is there anything left that we would fight for?”
He also said that for military members who swear to support and defend the constitution, that oath is a lifetime commitment.
“An oath is not for a day or a month or a year,” he said. “The oath you take is for a lifetime.”
He said the American soldier stands at the forefront of ensuring the United States endures.
“The American soldier will endure any hardship and undergo any sacrifice for the cause of freedom and service to his country,” he said. “That is why we’re here today.”
He also said that how a nation honors its veterans will impact future conflicts.
“General Washington, our first commander in chief, gave some insight to the longevity of our nation by saying this:” Hendry said. “The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve the country in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional as to how they perceive the veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their nation.”
“The American military is unbeatable in war,” he continued, “not so much because of the hatred they have in front of them but for the love of the people that are still behind them.”
A warning for the future
Hendry also issued a warning about what he saw was a threat to the future of the country.
“I fear that we’re starting down a road full of shame and tears,” he said. “Today, the character and integrity of our nation’s leadership and a good portion of our population is in serious question.”
“This year, dozens of statues honoring our founding fathers have been pulled down and desecrated by the mob,” he added. “Could the tombstone of our fallen warriors be next?”
