Sacrifice Remembered: Hearne’s Memorial Day Observance

On Monday, a handful of hearty souls braved the elements to attend the American Legion’s Memorial Day service in the First Baptist Church Family Life Center.

Legion Commander Charlie Sheffield opened the event with a welcome, the pledge to the flag, and the introduction of  Col. Jimmy Reagan, US Army retired,  who gave the invocation.

After thanking the city of Hearne and Prosperity Bank for their unwavering support of the Legion and its mission, Sheffield again turned the program over to Col. Reagan, event speaker.

"Col. Reagan speaks to the heart", Commander Sheffield pointed out.  He has a way of making the sacrifice of young men and women real, and he has a talent for making those who benefited from that sacrifice remember and be grateful. 

Reagan began with a brief history of Memorial Day, which began, he explained, as Decoration Day soon after the Civil War.  Grateful citizens would decorate the graves of the fallen–both Union and Confederate– with flowers and other remembrances. It became a national holiday when Union General Logan petitioned Congress to make Decoration Day a national day of remembrance.

In 1968, the day for honoring America’s troops who died in combat became Memorial Day, always celebrated on the last Monday of May. 

Next. Reagan made it personal. He talked about men and women he makes a point of remembering on Memorial Day and other days as well–people who deserve our thoughts and prayers of thanksgiving for what they did. He remembered Murphy and Eeds, who died while attempting to rescue a unit in trouble within Vietnamese enemy territory.  Their helicopter, under fire and bad weather, crashed, and their bodies were never found.  He remembered Sharon Lange, a nurse, a volunteer, who also died when her hospital came under fire.  Lt. Frank Luke, a pilot in WWI, achieved 18 victories in 18 days, the last of which occurred on the ground as he shot German soldiers after crashing. They eventually killed him. He remembered Cecil Smith, a Robertson County man who died in Tunisia and SGT. Scott Burgess who died in Afghanistan.

Reagan reminded his audience that these were young people with dreams and potential-all unrealized–so that our dreams and potential could be met.  

But we can remember them, he said, by consciously bringing them to mind, as they would want. And by planting flags and flowers on their graves. “Take a quiet moment and focus on these people and their families.”