Memorial Day Observance

Memorial Day Observance

Time

–

Day, Date

, 2013

Introduction

The following is an example introduction.

It has four elements: acknowledgements,

rapport with the audience, topic and subtopic. You can modify the acknowledgements

and rapport building to your specific speaker, location and event.

I’d like to thank

you

for inviting me to join you today

during

this Memorial Day

remembrance.

Let me begin by asking all the Veterans

and the Gold Star Families

in the audience to

please stand. You are

each

hero

es

–

thank you deeply for your self

-

less service.

(Applause)

.

I think those men and women who

,

so long a

go

,

imagined this holiday we

now

call

Memorial Day, knew what they were doing when they designated this time of year as

our time to honor the fallen. It is a time of renewal and strength after a winter of loss

and silence. They must have imagined all the

flowers in bloom, a million or more

representing those lost in battles here and on almost every continent around the globe.

They must have imagined the opportunity to tell the stories of the past to the American

people who will pass these stories on to t

he children of tomorrow.

T

he flowers of the season

are beginning

to break through hallowed ground and remind

us to honor those sleeping the long goodnight beneath it.

E

ver so resiliently, the tulips

and daisies, daffodils and poppies are peaking through the

earth

and

proclaiming with

their spectrum of petals and their soft fragrance, that there is hope in the face of

hardship and there is life to be remembered where the

stem meets the soil.

These

annual monuments that grow from nothing would not be stopped this year in their

mission to announce

the day we honor the men and women

-

sons and daughters

-

of

this Nation, who gave their lives in her defense.

We too must take

our cue from these symbols of growth and proclaim today a day to tell

the story of a Soldier who

is

no longer able to smell the scents of spring. Today I want

3

to spend our time together reflecting on the stories of Soldiers who died for our Nation

’s

cause

–

some in combat

and some

after

a life

,

long

-

lived in

uniform.

Their stories are

the stories of this Nation and they

deserve to be heard, remembered and honored

on

Memorial Day and beyond.

First,

before we honor those most extraordinary heroes

as is tradition today

, let us

acknowledge the men and women who died for this country after a life in service to her

–

people who will not make the pages of history, but who nevertheless require our

respect and homage

.

Second,

I wan

t

to highlight

two

of

the

se

most

extraordinary citizens

.

Finally

,

we must praise the solemn task of those who carry on after that dreadful knock

on the door that bore the worst of all visitors

–

fate.

1:

The nameless heroes

Today we

gather at cemeteries all over the country, march in parades in cities big and

small from California to Virginia and

we

watch the annual Memorial Day concert on

television. We

do these things

to

honor the loyalty and bravery of our fallen in this noble

cal

ling

-

military service.

While this day is typically spent recalling the valor of men and

women who died in combat,

we must never forget those quiet professionals who

answered

that noble calling

to

serve

t

he people of the United States. Their

passing

did

n’t make

headlines

, but their

lives and profound sense of duty and patriotism will

resonate with the Soldiers they met and

trained,

the missions they executed with

dedication

and the families they left behind

.

It’s the crusty drill sergeant who barked

orde

rs so the recruits could learn how to handle stress; It’s the sergeant who helped a

new Soldier mend a troubled marriage; It’s the chaplain who listened

to

and comforted a

Warrior who had just lost a battle buddy

-

these are the nameless heroes, but to th

eir

families, who live and die each day without want of recognition

-

who we are obligated

to remember

. They die in

nursing homes and hospitals everywhere

, everyday

–

the fact

that they did not die in battle should not diminish our responsibility as citize

ns of this

great Nation to show

our respect for their s

ervice. It is not where they die

d

that matters,

4

it is

their life given over to the greater good of the

N

ation

,

that defines their legacy

. It’s

the years at

-

a

-

time deployed, separated from family

,

in austere conditions

and

in

unfamiliar lands

that makes them our heroes

. These me

n and women too must be

ho

nored today and beyond. When is

the last time you walked pa

st

someone

donning a

baseball

cap bearing the name of a

decades

-

old

war or battle

? Did

you stop and thank

them

for

their

service? Did you ask

them their

story? There is no time but today to know

those Veterans who so faithfully guarded our Nation. As you must know, f

ewer and

fewer of the men who survived World War II are still with us. W

e must seize this day to

seek the

m out and learn their stories; a

nd once learned, share them with the next

generation.

Resolve today to never let that m

an in the cap pass you by again. Shake

his hand, tell him you appreciate him, let him know you apprecia

te the years he gave

,

so that you could be free. It is our responsibility as citizens to pay homage to those who

die in service to the Nation but

-

oh

–

how much more is our responsibility to pay

homage before they pass. It is not a message you are used t

o hearing on Memorial

Day, but it is important to consider, none

-

the

-

less.

2:

E

xtraordinary hero

es

I will share

two stories

of

th

e

se m

ost extraordinary people to wear the

Army u

niform;

ordinary people

who knew the price of freedom but wrote the check anyway.

Army chaplain, Captain

Emil (A

-

mill) Kapaun (Cup

-

pawn) grew up on a farm in Pilsen,

Kansas. His

first calling was to God. God, he said,

called him t

o military service, s

o he

joined the Army. Ka

paun was sent to Korea in 1950 to provide comfort and counsel to

the troops a

s a

chaplain

during the first months of the Korean War

. The Soldiers quickly

realized he was so much more than a

chaplain. He was thei

r

“

Soldier

-

Saint.

”

On All

Saints Day

his un

it came under

heavy attack by Chinese forces

that

, until that time, no

one thought would enter into the Korean conflict. The Chinese forces devastated the

American lines into the night and on through the next day. Kapaun had the chance to

fall back to sa

fety with a portion of his unit

,

but he chose to stay in the thick of the battle

to

minister to the dying and

aid the wounded. He would brave a barrage of bullets,

bounding from foxhole to foxhole to check on

“

his boys.

”

Over and over he risked his

life to retrieve the wounded or the bodies of the fallen. When the wounded were beyond

5

saving, he gave them spiritual comfort. One Soldier from that battlefield says it was a

miracle he’s still alive

today

, but for the actio

ns of Chaplain Kapaun. Despite finally

being captured

and in the midst of being marched away by a Chinese soldier at

gunpoint

, Kapaun saw

an enemy soldier with his weapon draw

n

and moments away

from executing an American Soldier

-

Sergeant First Class Her

bert Miller

. Ka

paun

defiantly left his captor,

pushed the enemy Soldier to the ground and picked Sergeant

Miller up

from the ditch

.

The enemy troops were too stunned to react.

Kapaun and

Miller spent the remainder of their time in the war interned in a p

risoner of war camp in

North Korea. Kapaun died there in 1951. He was posthumously presented the Medal

of Honor by the President at the White House on April 12

th

of this year. What’s amazing

about this story is Kapaun

did not shoulder a rifle or

wield a

bayonet. He carried a B

ible

and

holy water. These wer

e the weapons he used in battle and they were more effective

than the bullets of a determined enemy. His death was a tragedy, but his life is what we

must learn from. Resolve today as citizens of this

Nation to take his story and tell your

children and grandchildren

,

so his legacy and investment might always be remembered.

I can tell you that those like Herbert Miller and the POWs who credit Kapaun with sa

ving

their lives remember

carry on his messa

ge

of duty and brotherhood

until today

. Today,

I ask that you also carry on his memory.

First Lieutenant Ashley White Stumpf (STUMF)

not only epitomizes those who

sacrificed all but reminds us of the female Soldiers who have placed themselves in

harm’s way for their country throughout history and continue to do so even more as we

gather here today.

Ashley joined ROTC in her first year of college at Ohio’s Kent State University. That’s

where she met her future husband, Jason Stumpf, also a cadet. If you ask Jason, he will

tell you that he fell for Ashley instantly. Her smile locked his heart and from

that point

on, they were inseparable. After graduation, Jason went on active duty and Ashley

joined the National Guard. Jason proposed during Christmas and soon deployed to

Afghanistan.

Ashley often talked about deploying. She wanted to serve in a mea

ningful way

–

in her

mind, deploying was the way for her to change lives and do more for her country as well

6

as the people of Afghanistan. She was proud of Jason but wished she could be there

too. Jason wasn’t so sure about that part.

In 2010, we were str

uggling to maintain the edge in Afghanistan

–

often missing the bad

guy by seconds because the only one with information was an Afghan woman who

refused to talk with our male Soldiers

–

it was culturally taboo. So, the Army began

training female Soldiers

to be part of elite teams to go out on missions with Army

Rangers and Special Forces troops to help build rapport with the Afghan women.

These troops would be trained using the same tactics used to build our elite male

forces. The Cultural Support Team p

rogram, as it is called, filled a critical component of

mission success and combatant commanders knew it. Now, the Army needed women

for a very specified combat role

–

one that would put them in the middle of the fight

alongside the men. And the men foun

d out quickly, they couldn’t do it without them.

When Ashley learned about the program, she was very excited. She knew this was the

perfect job for her. It was a way to make an immediate impact on people’s lives. But,

she’d have to talk to Jason who had

just returned from a combat tour in Afghanistan.

Jason listened to Ashley, putting on three hats as they discussed the idea of Ashley

volunteering to join the Cultural Support Team. As a husband, he struggled to be

supportive of his wife’s goals and des

ires while still wanting to keep her out of harm’s

way. As an Afghanistan War Veteran, he knew the danger and the frustration, and the

fear, and the death. As an Army officer, he wanted the Army to have the best person

for the job. He knew that was Ashl

ey. Watching the excitement in her eyes as she

talked about the opportunity, he knew she had to go.

Ashley and Jason s

p

ent the remaining time before her deployment getting ready. She

was always the fastest runner in the group, but Jason made sure she pu

shed herself to

be tougher and stronger than she had ever been in her life.

During the deployment, w

hen she called home, they never talked about work. She’d

ask about their “baby,

” a Siberian Husky named Gunner,

or she’d listen to Jason

complain about w

ork. Jason knew she was happy. She was doing exactly what she set

out to do.

7

It was a Saturday morning when Jason’s doorbell rang. A pe

e

k through the peephole

revealed the worst scene an Army spouse can ever see. The commander, first

sergeant and the

chaplain were there

–

dressed in the

ir

blue Army Service Uniforms.

Ashley had died

-

a victim of an improvised explosive device

–

alongside her were

Sergeant First Class Kristoffer Domeij and Private First Class Christopher Horns. All

three died serving

their nation

–

in combat

–

shoulder to shoulder. We honor them all

on this Memorial Day.

3:

The people who carry on

On Memorial Day, tradition dictates that

the Stars and Stripes are raised briskly against

the wind to the top of the staff and then solem

nly lowered to the position of half

-

staff,

where it remains

only until noon. It is then raised to full

-

staff for the remainder of the

day. The half

-

staff position remembers the more than one million women and men who

gave their lives in service of their

Nation. At noon their memory is raised by the living

who resolve not to let their sacrifice be in vain, but to rise up in their stead and continue

the fight for liberty.

That flag is raised by people like Herbert Miller and artilleryman Captain Jason Stumpf.

Their pain is deeply rooted, but so also is their resolve to tell the story of their Soldier,

their battle

-

buddy, their spouse.

F

eel free to include a story of a Gol

d Star Family from your community (who may be

attending your event

) here

. For example: “People like Mary Joyce,

here with us today,

keep our brave sons and daughters alive with their steadfast dedication to telling their

stories. Mary

woke up this mornin

g to place a flag and bouquet of flowers on the grave

of her oldest son, Joseph

, age 24, who died in Afghanistan just last year. She carries

on every day, telling his story and

honoring his life

.

It is a painful task that heals just a

bit with each tellin

g.

Every military family lives in perpetual fear of the knock on the door that is accompanied

by three service mem

bers in blue. There are men and

women here and across the

country

, like Jason and Herbert,

whose lives were never the same after that knock.

But,

t

hey carry on each day knowing a void only they

c

an endeavor to fill.

So many mothers

and wives, husbands and fathers, extended family and friends do their duty every day to

8

ensure their loved one is remembered.

They carry on each day with pictures o

n

mantels and mementos of a life not fully lived. They carry on understanding that their

Soldier chose this life of service and thus

they

understoo

d the potentiality of

their

death

as a sacrifice for the sake of freedom.

These men and women left behind

,

c

arry on their

Soldier’s messag

e; raising

-

up their

memory like an unfurled flag.

Today we also honor

you, for you bear a burden only you can comprehend. We are grateful for the support

you gave your Soldier, so

they

could

carry out

the

mission of p

rotectin

g people like my

family

and your family

. W

e are grateful you are here to carry on

the

story so that we

might also know

your Soldier’s

bravery

.

We thank you for YOUR service and promise

to help YOU carry on.

This is another opportunity to ask the

audience to applaud the Gold

-

Star Families

.

Conclusion

I

t is our responsibility as citizens to remember the Nation’s brave fallen men and women

–

whether they died on foreign lands in the heat of battle or after a lifetime in the uniform

of our Army. And

, never forget the men and women who know all too much the cost of

our freedom, for their service to this country is the greatest gift of all.

Finally, as you

get ready to round out

your long Memorial Day weekend with barbeques

,

parades and family

gatherings, r

esolve to continue the narrative of this holiday with your

loved ones. What day is better than today to

commit to doing this small task?

Later,

after the sun

sets and after the smell of hotdogs and burgers waft away, I ask

you to

stop and refl

ect on

this day and the Soldiers who paid a price we will never be able to

match. Remember that t

oday is both a somber day and a day to rejoice. Today is both

a day to weep and to sing with joy. Today is both a day of forgotten v

alor and a day to

remembe

r it.

Today is a day of spring’s renewal in the shadow of winter’s mortality.

Most of all, today is a day to tell the stories

of the Soldiers of battlefields

and decades

past, so the Soldiers of yesterday and today are never forgotten by the children of

to

morrow.

(Applause)

Feel free to add thanks that ma

y be appropriate for your event.