With the strains of the Effingham Community Orchestra as a backdrop, Effingham residents paid tribute to soldiers who fell in battle in far-flung places during Monday’s Memorial Day ceremony.
“We are still in a time of war,” said Lamar Crosby, emcee for the event and a veteran as well, “and we need to remember that sacrifice. Most of the 3rd Infantry Division is still deployed and many other of our service members who are deployed in combat and around the world are prepared to give their life every day in service of our country.
“I think it’s very special that we gather on Memorial Day as a way to remember that sacrifice and particularly all of that service.”
Capt. Patrick Grover, commander of the Springfield-based Alpha Battery, 1/118 Field Artillery Battalion, spoke about the missions his soldiers performed during their deployment to Afghanistan and was overcome with emotion when describing why he joined the service.
While Memorial Day is a holiday for millions of Americans, it bears particular significance to Grover.
“For those of us in this room, we think it goes a little bit deeper than that,” he said. “It is a day to honor all those who served and paid for our freedoms with their blood, sweat and tears.”
Grover recounted why he joined the military in the first place, in honor of his grandfather, Edmund Justis. Justis, who served with the 1st Marine Division on Guadalcanal in World War II, passed away three months ago. He earned a Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts in the Pacific theater.
He also said how proud he was of the soldiers in his current unit after their year-long mobilization and subsequent deployment to Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.
The transition from field artillery and firing howitzers to training police and security personnel impressed Crosby.
“That says a lot about the young men and women in our country who serve in our military,” he said.
Rev. Andrew Krey, pastor of Bible Lutheran Church and a Navy veteran, offered the invocation and asked that soldiers who have died in service and their families to be remembered.
“Help us assure that our country’s defenders’ lives, their deaths and the memory of their sacrifice will never be forgotten,” he said. “Remind us to thank them and their loved ones every time we breathe the fresh air of a land that is still the most free land.
