READING OF NAMES/WREATH LAYING CEREMONY
SACRAMENTO, CA.
MAY 25, 2008
Reading of Names/Wreath Laying Ceremony Speech
William R. I. "Easy" Smith
May 25, 2008
Sacrifice is meaningless without remembrance.
Our nation enjoys many freedoms today. Freedoms that are at
times taken for granted. Someone paid the price for these
freedoms. They paid with their lives. And they were total
strangers to most but need to be remembered by all.
We are here to honor our war dead. Fellow Americans who left behind
hopes and dreams, family and friends.
The total numbers of those killed in Iraq and Afghanistan
have exceeded 4,000. And the wounded five times that number. These
are the men and women who have made the greatest sacrifice - giving one's life for another.
Our troops are fighting 2 wars. We hear the stories. For some
they are not new. For many we know the pain of being in a combat
zone. We know the pain of seeing our comrade's fall in battle.
Together, we must make sure that they are remembered. We need to
support our troops no matter what our feelings are about the war
itself.
There are all kinds of ways to do this. Care packages, pen pals
and paying tribute this Memorial Day Weekend.
Let our young men and women returning home know that they have
returned "home" by a simple "Welcome Home" or "Thank you for your service!" Don't make them wait 30 years plus.
Which brings me to my plea. Which is no different than in the past:
You may not understand the returning soldier, but, realize he or she
has been to a place and has had not your everyday normal living experiences. They need your support. They need to know we care. They need to know that we are there for them.
Let them know that theirs' and the sacrifices of our fallen "Does
mean something!" Let them know they are not forgotten warriors.
Let's in unity take a moment in unity and pause in remembrance
of the men and women who so gallantly paid the price, and still paying the price everyday giving some, giving all.
Lest They Not Be Forgotten!
And now I'd like to read a poem. I have been working on this
poem for about 3 years and finished about 3am in the morning
and find today an appropriate time for it. It is titled:
