BY TRACY LEE TATE
Times Staff Writer
LAKE BUTLER — Union County residents gathered together Monday morning at the annual Memorial Day Ceremony hosted by American Legion Post 153 to commemorate the service of residents who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service to their country.
Brian Reagan, Post 153 commander, welcomed the crowd and introduced the UCHS JROTC Honor Guard, who presented the colors and raised the flag. Honor Guard members were: Cadet Captain (and Honor Guard Commander) Mackenzie Ring, Cadet Major Brooke Burgess, Cadet Captain Alena Boyer and Cadet 1SG Syann Malone.
Reagan passed the microphone to Post 153 Adjutant, the Honorable Judge Mitchell Bishop, who gave an interesting historical recounting of the Memorial Day holiday. Post 153 Chaplain Gene Gordon then offered the invocation. The prayer was followed by the parade of flags representing all of the U. S. Armed Services by members of Boy Scout Troop 140 and Cub Scout Pack 140. The scouts, and the flags they carried, were: Tyler Kelley – United States Marine Corps, Craig Brookins – United States Air Force, Zayden Pressley – United States Coast Guard, Wayne Elixson – United States Army and Eli Elixson – United States Navy. After the presentation of the colors, scout David Pickett led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance then Emma Jeffers sang the National Anthem.
Bishop talked about the tradition of the ringing of bells in honoring those who have passed and the military protocol of ringing a bell seven times for the fallen. The first six tolls recount the stages of the veteran’s service, with the seventh signifying loss of life. As the names of the fallen were read, a bell was tolled once for each, signifying their End of Watch. The names of Union County Veterans who had made the ultimate sacrifice in the service of their country. They are: World War 1: Neal Langford; World War II: Herman Bryan, Gordon Coffin, Seeber “Buck” Crawford, John M. Dennison, Jessie Dicks, Jack Dryer, Thomas Moore, Wilber McCall, Earl Rhoden, Dennis E. Roberts and Ernest Roberts; The Korean Ward: John William Carter and Harley Jo Seay; Vietnam: Richard Edward, Jr. , and Charlie Geiger; Lebanon: Jimmie Nettles and Panama: Elbert Grantham. American Legion members Colin Coody (Air Force) and Ronnie Woodall (Army) placed a wreath at the Union County Veterans Memorial. American Legion member Quentin Bloodsworth, the oldest member of Post 153 and quite possibly the oldest living veteran in Union County, who usually served in the placement of the wreath, was not feeling well and was unable to perform his usual service.
Reagan then resumed the podium and conducted the POW-MIA Service. He stated some startling figures about American Service Men who were prisoners of war and/or missing in action. In World War I there was a combined total of 7,470 service men who were either POWs or MIA. Further details on these men was not available. In World War II there were 124,079 soldiers taken as POWs and 30,314 MIA, of the total of these 72,481 are still unaccounted for. For the Korean War there were 7,140 POWs and 8,025 MIA, of whom 6,505 are still unaccounted for. For the Cold War the number of service members taken as prisoners of war is classified, but 343 were missing in action, with 126 of these still unaccounted for. For the Vietnam War there were 766 POWs and 1,817 MIA, of whom 1,584 are still unaccounted for (53 of the MIAs listed claimed Florida as their home of record). For the Gulf Wars there were 29 POWs and 21 MIA, with five still unaccounted for. Reagan concluded this listing with the word, “These courageous Americans, who dedicated their lives to preserving and protecting our freedom will never be forgotten. ”
A small table was set off to the side of the stage, covered in a white cloth and holding a red rose in a vase tied with a red ribbon, a plate holding a slice of lemon and salt, an inverted empty drinking glass, and empty chair a white candle and an American flag. Reagan explained the symbolism and significance of each item in honoring America’s fallen and missing service members.
Kindall Johnson, UCHS Class of 2023 Valedictorian and recipient of the American Legion Scholarship, was the guest speaker for the event and read her winning essay submitted as part of her application for the scholarship. The essay was about that patriotism is. She said she gave the subject a great deal of thought and that the topic was difficult to truly define. She stressed that it was “important to remember that our freedoms are not free,” and went on to say the “Patriotism is not just about waving a
flag, but in understanding how we got the freedom to do it. ”
Reagan returned to close the ceremony and to thank those who helped make it possible. These included: the Lake Butler Woman’s Club for the use of their sound system and having members on hand to hand out water, Lake Butler City Commissioner for printing the event program, Emma Jeffers for singing the National Anthem, the UCHS JROTC and instructor Lt. Col. Steverson, Terry’s Floral for the silk flower wreath, Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts who decorated all the graves at Ft. Call Cemetery for the observance and Union County 4-H who did the same at other cemeteries. He also mentioned that Union County VFW Post #10082 was holding an open house after the event. The program closed with the playing of “Taps” by Union County High School band member Nathan Pavlisko.
