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MEMORIAL DAY 2005
Dedicated to the memory of
Frank Lilla, John Thomas Lilla, David Clayman and Guy Paquin
I AM HONORED THAT YOU WOULD
INVITE ME TO ADDRESS YOU ON SUCH A SIGNIFICANT DAY. BECAUSE OF YOU, I CAN
SPEAK MY MIND A THOUSAND TIMES OVER AND NEVER ONCE BE ARRESTED OR THROWN IN
JAIL AS A PRISONER OF CONSCIENCE. BECAUSE OF YOU, I CAN EXERCISE MY RIGHT
AND MY PRIVILEGE TO VOTE. BECAUSE OF YOU, I BENEFIT FROM A FREEDOM UNKNOWN
TO MOST OF THE REST OF THE WORLD. I AM DEEPLY GRATEFUL TO ALL OF YOU FOR
PROTECTING THE FREEDOM I HAVE ENJOYED EVERYDAY OF MY LIFE.
I COME FROM A LONG LINE OF
VETERANS. MY FATHER SERVED IN THE PACIFIC DURING WORLD WAR II. I HAVE
UNCLES, COUSINS AND DEAR FRIENDS THAT SERVED IN EUROPE, THE PACIFIC, KOREA,
VIETNAM, KUWAIT AND NOW IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN. AND THEY HAVE ALL INFLUENCED
ME IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER AT DIFFERENT STAGES OF MY LIFE. MY DAD WAS
EXTREMELY PROUD TO BE A VETERAN AND I WAS PROUD OF HIM. ALTHOUGH AS A CHILD
I DIDN’T UNDERSTAND WHAT REALLY HAPPENED TO HIM DURING THE WAR, I DID KNOW
ON SOME LEVEL THAT HE PARTICIPATED IN SOMETHING HISTORIC. DAD WAS A LIFE
LONG MEMBER OF BOTH THE AMERICAN LEGION AND THE VFW IN THE TOWN WHERE I GREW
UP. WHEN I WAS A LITTLE GIRL, I USED TO HELP HIM PLACE AMERICAN FLAGS ON
THE GRAVES OF ALL THE LOCAL VETERANS. I KNEW WHAT WE WERE DOING WAS
IMPORTANT, BUT I WAS TOO YOUNG TO CONNECT IT TO THE REALITY OF WAR OR TO
FULLY UNDERSTAND THE INCREDIBLE SACRIFICES EACH OF THOSE VETERANS HAD MADE
IN THE NAME OF FREEDOM.
I GREW UP DURING THE VIETNAM
WAR. I REMEMBER THE IMAGES ON TV, BOTH IN VIETNAM AND AT HOME. I CLEARLY
DID NOT UNDERSTAND THE ISSUES AND I SURE COULDN’T FIGURE OUT WHAT WE WERE
DOING HALF WAY ACROSS THE WORLD, BUT I THINK MY REAL FEAR WAS THAT THERE WAS
SOMEONE IN MY OWN HOUSEHOLD WHO MIGHT HAVE TO FIGHT IN THAT WAR AND I DIDN’T
WANT ANY PART OF THAT.
MY BROTHER JOHNNY WAS 9 YEARS
OLDER THAN ME. HE WAS A BIG GUY WITH AN ENGAGING AND INFECTIOUS SENSE OF
HUMOR. AND HE WAS VERY KIND. WHEN HE RECEIVED HIS FIRST PAYCHECK FROM THE
FIRST JOB HE EVER HAD, HE TOOK THAT MONEY AND BOUGHT ME A BRAND NEW
BICYCLE. HE GRADUATED FROM OVID CENTRAL SCHOOL IN 1965, HONORED BY HIS
CLASSMATES AS THE CLASS CLOWN. INSTEAD OF GOING TO COLLEGE, HE WAS DRAFTED
AND ENTERED THE NAVY IN SEPTEMBER OF THAT YEAR. I PROMPTLY TOOK UP
RESIDENCE IN HIS ROOM AND WAITED TO HEAR ABOUT HIS ADVENTURES. HE TRAVELED
TO MICHIGAN, ARIZONA, TENNESSEE AND FINALLY ENDED UP IN NORFOLK, VA.
ASSIGNED TO THE USS FORRESTAL. IN MAY OF 1967, THE FORRESTAL LEFT FOR THE
GULF OF TONKIN OFF THE COAST OF NORTH VIETNAM. THE SHIP ARRIVED ON JULY 28TH
AND IMMEDIATELY BEGAN BOMBING RAIDS. ON JULY 29TH, SOMETHING
WENT TERRIBLY WRONG ON THE FLIGHT DECK, CULMINATING IN ONE OF THE WORST
NAVAL DISASTERS IN U.S. HISTORY. WHEN ALL THE FIRES WERE FINALLY
EXTINGUISHED, OVER 130 MEN LOST THEIR LIVES AND MY BROTHER WAS ONE OF THEM.
AT THE AGE OF 11, I CAME TO KNOW THE UNSPEAKABLE SADNESS OF WAR AND I HAVE
NEVER BEEN THE SAME.
THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY WAS
STUNNED, BUT THEY RALLIED AROUND OUR FAMILY AND CARED FOR US WHEN WE WERE
TOO GRIEF STRICKEN TO CARE FOR OURSELVES. IT WAS THE VETERANS IN OUR
COMMUNITY THAT LED THE WAY. THE MEN WHO HAD TO CONSOLE ONE MORE FAMILY AND
RELIVE THE HORRORS OF WAR FOR YET ONE MORE TIME SET ASIDE THEIR OWN FEELINGS
AND STOOD STRONG FOR US. EVEN THOUGH I WAS YOUNG, I COULD FEEL THE KINSHIP
OF THIS VERY SPECIAL FRATERNITY AND I WAS PROUD TO BE PROTECTED BY THEM.
AND EVEN THOUGH I WAS SAD BEYOND WORDS, I WAS SO VERY PROUD OF MY BROTHER
FOR HIS SENSE OF HONOR AND DUTY AND HIS SUPREME SACRIFICE FOR FREEDOM.
THE MEMBERS OF THE OVID
AMERICAN LEGION POST HONORED THE MEMORY OF MY BROTHER AND ANOTHER YOUNG MAN
FROM OVID WHO ALSO MADE THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE IN VIETNAM, BRUCE MANNING, BY
NAMING THE POST AFTER THEM. I AM PROUD WHEN I SEE MY BROTHER’S NAME ON THE
SIGN, EVEN THOUGH I MISS HIM MORE THAN WORDS CAN CONVEY. I HAVE OFTEN
WONDERED WHAT HIS LIFE WOULD HAVE BEEN LIKE, WHAT KIND OF CAREER HE’D HAVE
AND IF I WOULD HAVE HAD THE PLEASURE OF SPOILING HIS CHILDREN. BUT MOST OF
ALL, I WONDER WHAT IT WOULD HAVE BEEN LIKE TO KNOW MY BROTHER AS AN ADULT,
TO SHARE THE CHALLENGES AND VICTORIES OF OUR LIVES, NOT JUST AS BIG BROTHER
AND LITTLE SISTER, BUT AS FRIENDS.
ALTHOUGH I NEVER SERVED IN THE
ARMED FORCES, I DEEPLY RESPECT THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE. I WAS GREATLY
INFLUENCED BY A COMMUNITY OF VETERANS THAT TAUGHT ME LOYALTY, SACRIFICE,
INTEGRITY AND THE IMPORTANCE OF SERVICE TO COUNTRY. I HAVE CHOSEN PUBLIC
SERVICE AS A CAREER AND I LIKE TO THINK IT IS BECAUSE OF THE VALUES THAT I
LEARNED AS A CHILD. I BELIEVE WITH ALL MY HEART THAT SERVICE TO MY
COMMUNITY IS ONE OF THE FEW WAYS I CAN SAY THANKS TO YOU. YOU HAVE SERVED
OUR COUNTRY HONORABLY AND WITH DIGNITY. I WANT TO SERVE MY COMMUNITY AS A
TRIBUTE TO THE SACRIFICES YOU HAVE MADE. I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT I
APPRECIATE WHAT YOU HAVE DONE FOR ME, AND I HOPE IN SOME SMALL WAY I CAN
MAKE THE COMMUNITY WHOSE FREEDOM YOU PRESERVED A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE. IT
IS THE ABSOLUTE LEAST I CAN DO.
MY FATHER AND MY BROTHER LEFT
ME WITH GIFTS THAT ARE HARD TO ARTICULATE. REGARDLESS OF MY POLITICAL VIEWS
OR MY PERSONAL FEELINGS ABOUT A MISSION, I HONOR, WITHOUT RESERVATION, THE
MEN AND WOMEN WHO SERVE THIS COUNTRY IN THE MILITARY. IT IS THEIR
WILLINGNESS TO SERVE OUR COUNTRY AND PROTECT OUR CONSTITUTION AND THE
FREEDOM IT GUARANTEES THAT MATTERS TO ME. BECAUSE OF MY FATHER AND HIS
DEVOTION TO VETERANS AS A VETERAN, I HAVE BECOME MORE ATTUNED TO ISSUES
CONCERNING VETERANS. I LISTEN TO CANDIDATES AND CAREFULLY EVALUATE THEIR
STAND ON VETERANS ISSUES BEFORE I CAST MY VOTE. WHETHER IT IS AGENT ORANGE,
GULF WAR SYNDROME OR POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER, IT IS OUR DUTY TO SERVE
YOU AS YOU HAVE SERVED US.
I AM PROUD AND HUMBLED MORE
THAN WORDS CAN SAY THAT YOU OFFERED ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TO YOU
TODAY. I WANT TO CLOSE WITH SOME WORDS FOR YOU WRITTEN BY STEVE MASON, THE
POET LAUREATE OF THE VIETNAM VETERANS OF AMERICA:
…..AND FOR EACH
OF US
THERE
REMAINS ONE, MUCH NEEDED WAR.
ONE, LAST
COMMITMENT WORTHY OF A LIFETIME---
TO FIGHT
FOR PEACE IN EACH OF OUR HEARTS
AGAINST
THE FIERCE ENEMIES OF OUR DARKEST NATURES.
AND TO
MARCH IN LOCK STEP WITH VETERANS OF ALL WARS
FROM ALL
NATIONS FOR HUMAN DIGNITY.
THEN
SHALL WE PASS IN REVIEW
AND EACH
SHALL HEAR MANKIND WHISPER TO THE GODS
“THERE,
THEN, GOES ONE OF OURS.”
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