Sometimes I think that we should have a two-day national holiday, bowing our heads on Memorial Day in honor of those who we lost in time of war, followed by a day celebrating our independence with parades, speeches and fireworks.
To me, these two days are linked eternally. We need to remember the sacrifices made by others in order to understand the values we cherish with our independence.
On my desk is a plastic vial filled with thousands of grains of sand from Omaha Beach in France, the site of D-Day, June 6, 1944. Above the beach is a military cemetery with crosses and Stars of David for the more than 9,300 graves.
It is more than 4,000 miles from the bloody beaches of France to the village of Park Forest where I live. Despite the distance, I think there is an unbreakable link of memory between the two places.
Park Forest is often labeled the “G.I. Town”; a newly built post-World War II community offering veterans a chance to rebuild their lives after a war; a place to create a peaceful life and make ready the next generation.
Once, on the day set aside to honor those who never came back, the Village Green in the heart of Park Forest was where sizable crowds gathered to pay homage on Memorial Day to those who lost their lives during war.
The late Carl Dalke was among the old soldiers and sailors who would always attend. He would show up in his military uniform; his Eisenhower jacket covered with some 20 medals, ribbons and awards earned during his service in World War II. Carl died 15 years ago.
Things always happen and everything always changes.
The Park Forest American Legion Post 1198, which along with the village took the lead in these yearly tributes, has run into hard times. What was once an event with great ceremony, solemn prayers and patriotic songs this year lasted fewer than 20 minutes before some 40 people.
There is a memorial plaque on a small wall on Village Green. On it, the names of six Park Forest residents who died during the Vietnam war are listed along with a line that says “we shall not forget”
This is their legacy left to the living.
- On Sept. 4, 1965. Lt. Col. James Alvin Branch piloted his F-4 Phantom on a low-level strafing mission in North Vietnam when his plane was shot down. Heavy enemy activity prevented immediate recovery. In 1992, a joint U.S./Vietnamese team visited the crash site and eventually identified his remains.
- On a night reconnaissance mission in 1967, Warrant Officer Rodney O. Davie’s helicopter lost contact and then collided with another helicopter. Both aircraft were destroyed in the resultant crash with fire causing the death of four crew members on both planes.
- On March 23, 1967, Marine Lance Cpl. Terry King, who served his country for less than one year, was killed during combat in Vietnam when he and another soldier were fired upon by enemy forces.
- Army Cpl. Joseph Passavanti III, who was born in November 1947, began his tour of duty in Vietnam in February 1968 and was killed in action in South Vietnam May 24, 1968. It was recorded the cause of death was “small arms fire.”
- On June 17, 1968, three days before his 21st birthday, Army Sgt. John A. LaBundy died in what was described as a “hostile action with small arms fire,” in South Vietnam.
- In late May 1970, after handling a dangerous plastic explosive used for demolition and land clearing, Army Pvt. Gary McHugh went into convulsions. First diagnosed as a viral infection, adverse weather conditions kept medevac aircraft from reaching the base until May 31. Pvt. McHugh died May 29.
Today, when we cannot grasp the words of partisan lickspittles and toadies who bay at the beck and call of their political leader, we need to pay attention to the values that made us a country of hope.
Jerry Shnay is a freelance columnist for the Daily Southtown.
