Community Corner

VFW Commander Says Post Will Never forget Its Fallen Comrades

The community came together at the Hattal-Taylor VFW Post 333 Memorial Day to honor and remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

Nearly 40 people gathered outside the Hattal-Taylor VFW Post 333 Monday morning to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. 

"It's a great way to pay my respects," Tom Rogers, a Roxborough native and Army veteran who completed several tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, said. "I don't think today should be a somber day, I think it is a day to memorialize all those who have gone before us and carry them on."

Remembrance seemed to be the sentiment of the event as Post Commander Roy Simonds addressed the crowd. 

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"I was looking at a photo of a cemetery in Normandy, France and in the midst of hundreds of small white crosses was a small flag that had the word merci, French for thank you, written on it," he said. "And that really said it all."

Remembrance, he said, is why the names of his fallen comrades are etched in stone, so they can never be forgotten. 

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 "Some were college graduates and other high school drop outs, some were mature adults and some were barely adults, some were married and some were not but all left their lives and answered their country's call," Simonds said. "And they are all deserving of our deepest, sincerest gratitude. We must always remember them because they belong to us."

Red, white and blue wreaths were placed at the foot of the post's World War I, World War II, Korean, Vietnam and War on Terrorism memorials. The names of post members who died this year were also read.

Former Post Commander Russell Harrison, who placed a wreath on the World War II memorial, said Memorial Day is always a melancholy day for him.

 "This ceremony is something I have done for years," the Army man who joined the post in 1947 said. "But it kind of hurts when we see the numbers of people decreasing every year. This is one day, a few moments to remember. We need to do that."

And, according to Simonds, people should not soon forget that, "America is the land of the free because it is the home of the brave."


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