Memorial Day crowd gathers to remember fallen service members

May 29—Every year sisters Darla Hunt and Sherry Atkins attend the Memorial Day program at the Lauderdale County Courthouse in remembrance of their uncle, Seaman First Class Mack Harrison, who was killed in the sinking of the USS Indianapolis in 1945.

Harrison was a young gunner on the Indianapolis on July 26, 1945, when it completed a top secret mission to the island of Tinian, delivering vital components for the world's first ever nuclear weapon used in warfare. Four days later while sailing to rendezvous with its fleet, the ship was struck by two Japanese torpedoes fired from a submarine and sank within 12 minutes.

Only 316 of the ship's nearly 1,200 crew survived without food and water in the shark-infested waters until they were discovered four days later.

The sisters said their attendance at the annual ceremony is a way to remember their uncle for the sacrifice he made for his country.

"Our mother came every year until she was about 92, but we have been coming every year for a long, long time," Hunt said.

Monday morning's beautiful skies and warm temperatures drew a sizable crowd of military families, local officials and county residents to the annual Lauderdale County Memorial Day program at the Courthouse.

The ceremony was organized by local veterans groups of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, the Disabled American Veterans, the Fleet Reserve Association, the Military Order of the Purple Heart and the Marine Corps League.

During the program, Danny R. Smith, quartermaster with VFW Post 12124, and Jimmy Harvey, president of Fleet Reserve Branch 264, read off the 243 names of Lauderdale County residents killed in World Wars I and II and the Korean and Vietnam wars. All of the names are inscribed on a memorial located on the courthouse lawn.

"I am truly humbled to participate in such a solemn ceremony because we are gathered today to honor our fallen, those men and women who swore an oath, proudly wore uniforms and bravely died in them," said keynote speaker, Col. Cynthia L. Smith, commanding officer of the 186th Refueling Wing at Key Field Air National Guard.

"It is our sacred duty as Americans to remember them as they paid the ultimate sacrifice for our country, for our freedoms, for us," she said.

"Many of the service members we honor today didn't ask to leave their homes and fight on distant battlefields. Many didn't even volunteer," she said. "They didn't go to war because they loved fighting. They were called to be a part of something bigger than themselves. They were ordinary people who responded in extraordinary ways in extreme times."

Smith noted that Mississippians have a long history of making sacrifices for their country.

"Communities throughout Mississippi have borne a large burden of our nation's fallen," she said. "We just heard the names of 243 service members that came from this small county alone. So, it's fitting and right that we assemble here today."

A few of the speakers remarked that the meaning behind Memorial Day oftentimes gets lost since the holiday marks the unofficial start of summer. More than 42 million Americans were projected to travel 50 miles or more from home throughout the long weekend.

"Unfortunately it is human nature to take for granted those things that come easily and cost nothing, and there is a growing military-civilian disconnect that contributes to this feeling that Memorial Day has become overshadowed by other interests," Smith said.

During World War II, more than 12 percent of the U.S. population served in one of the military branches, but that number has dwindled to less than half of a percentage point today.

Smith said Americans should always remember the price that was paid by members of the military for our nation's freedoms.

"We must remember the price that was paid, so that we may live by their dedication to democracy, to liberty, and to the Constitution," she said. "When choosing between what is easy and what is right, let us live by the example of our fallen warriors, and when the values we hold dear are put to the test, let us live by the ideals that they gave their lives to defend."

A gun salute and the playing of Taps closed out the program.

Contact Glenda Sanders at gsanders@themeridianstar.com.