'Today we come together to honor our fallen'

May 30—Hundreds of people, young and old alike, gathered at the Georgia Veterans Memorial Cemetery near Milledgeville on Monday morning to pay tribute to the men and women veterans buried there.

The Memorial Day tribute was the first one in three years. The ceremony had to be canceled the last two years due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.

"It's a pleasure to welcome everyone here," said Linda Lavender, director of the Georgia Veterans Memorial Cemetery. "We're so excited to be back. We have missed y'all. The last couple of years have been a challenge for all, but today we come together to honor our fallen. This is a day in which we honor all the great heroes of our military who have given the ultimate sacrifice. They have laid down their lives for you and me, so we could live in the greatest country in the world. We owe it to our heroes."

Joe Kump, a member of the Knights of Columbus Honor Guard who serves as commander of the American Legion Post No. 253 in Wilkinson County, read the names of four veterans from Georgia who have died since last Memorial Day. Kump is is a deputy with the Putnam County Sheriff's Office in Eatonton.

The fallen officers included Army Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Ozment, 29, of Marietta; Air Force Sgt. Monica Gonzales, Moody Air Force Base; Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jonathan E. Gierke, of Lawrenceville; and Army Capt. James T. Bellew, 26, of Charlottesville, Va., who had been assigned to 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Stewart.

The ceremony marked the presentation of colors by members of the Baldwin High School Navy ROTC Unit.

While everyone stood at attention and saluted the American flag, the national anthem was played.

Knights of Columbus Deputy Grand Knight Marshall Mimbs followed by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

"This cemetery was dedicated to the veterans of Georgia in December 2001," Lavender told the crowd on a sunny mid-morning, as a large American flag waved at half-staff at the entrance of the cemetery. "And since that time, over 4,765 veterans and spouse dependents have been laid to rest. We're here today to honor our fallen heroes and to remember the sacrifices they have made in honor of duty and honor of our country. Let's remember their courage and their dedication to our country, and let them all know they will not be forgotten."

Lavender introduced the keynote speaker, Georgia Department of Veterans Service Commissioner Patricia Ross. A retired Air Force colonel, Ross has served in her current position since November 2021.

"What a glorious day to honor the sacrifices of our men and women who gave their lives in service to our country," Ross said. "I have to admit for most of my life, I was probably like the rest of America — those 99 percent who are not sitting here. For Memorial Day, instead, was about barbecues or spending time with friends and family. And quite honestly, as a military brat, it was when the base pool opened, because I lived on many military installations across the country and across the world."

Ross said when she was younger, she never fully understood the significance of Memorial Day.

"I'm the proud granddaughter of an Army veteran who fought in Europe," Ross said. "My father is a Viet Nam era veteran. And I'm his proud daughter that followed him service to the United States Air Force."

Ross said it wasn't until she was stationed overseas that she relieved the true significance of Memorial Day. She was working as a casualty officer at the time.

In early 1996, she recalled there were two tragic events.

"And I realized that by wearing the cloth of our nation, we would sacrifice our lives — whether at peace time, war time, regardless of where we were serving," Ross said.

The first of those tragedies was the terrorist attack on Khobar Towers, a housing complex located in the city of Khobar, Saudia Arabia, which killed 19 U.S. airmen.

Ross was working at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany at the time and was responsible for helping get some of the survivors of that attack clothed so they could be flown to Walter Reid Army Hospital in Washington, D.C.

Ross later witnessed many flag-draped coffins of those who were killed in that attack lined up on the tarmac.

"I saw those coffins lined up with the American flag, but it really hit me what it meant to serve," Ross said.

Just slightly more than a month later, another tragedy happened when U.S. Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown died, along with 32 others when a U.S. Air Force plane crashed into a mountain near Dubrovnik, Croatia.

"I had to go tell those families that they had lost their loved ones," Ross lamented. "It was hours waiting to hear what happened to that plane."

Ross said when she and others have donned military uniforms, they have always known that wearing the uniform could cost them their lives.

"Memorial Day is always bittersweet for me," Ross said. "I get to remember those that I have served with — that I've lost."

Ross said she does her best to remember the good times and to remember what those she served with stood for.

"Memorial Day is a reminder of those we have lost while fighting those many battles to keep America free and to keep tyranny from ruining our land," Ross said. "I think more so than any other time, we can look to what's happening in Europe and think about what would happen if we, as a nation, were not free. It's a reminder of those brave men and women, our friends and family, our comrades who sacrificed everything, so that we, and the rest of our nation may gather without fear, like we gather here today. It's a reminder that even today after they call the war over in Afghanistan that others are still standing in the gap — many from Georgia. But as a nation, we are ever grateful for their sacrifice as they fight oppression to ensure our national security. It's a reminder that for the grace of God go I."

Ross told everyone there to never take our military troops for granted.

She added that she was reminded of a quote from Pres. John F. Kennedy.

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them," Ross said, quoting the late president. "As we honor all those who came before and paid the ultimate price, let us choose to remember those who follow in their footsteps and who stand ready in service for the security of our freedom and our nation. May God bless our fallen service members, our current active duty, their families, and the United States of America. And may we honor those who gave their lives, not just in ceremonies like today, but every day with our actions. May we all live a life worthy of their sacrifice."

The Sons of the American Revolution from the John Milledge Chapter then fired old rifles and pistols before taps was performed to a silent and somber crowd.

Members of the Knights of Columbus Honor Guard participated in the raising of the giant American flag on a pole near the front entrance, while Jimmie Granville, of Macon, an Army staff sergeant for 15 years and a Viet Nam veteran, then released eight white doves from a cage.

It marked the second time that Granville has released the doves since doing it in 2019.

"Words cannot really describe what this means — the release of the doves," Granville said. "While so many people take Memorial Day as a holiday for cookouts and so forth, but to me it's a day to remember friends that you have lost in combat. It's a day I think about them and how much I miss them. And I think of their families. As the saying goes, some gave it all and we gave it a portion — those of us who were fortunate to make it back home. This is the least that I could do for my brothers who didn't make it back home."

Granville said he enjoys seeing the looks on the faces of those who watch when he releases the doves and they go into flight together.

"They are free and that's what it's all about — freedom," Granville said.