Ceremony salutes those who died for their country
Source: The News Journal
By SEAN O'SULLIVAN
May 31, 2010
WILMINGTON -- In the shadow of the American flag and the flags of the five branches of the U.S. military, lowered to half-staff, some 500 people packed into a tent Sunday morning at the base of the Delaware Memorial Bridge to reflect on the true meaning of today's holiday.
With ceremony, patriotic songs and a brass band, speaker after speaker reminded a crowd that did not need reminding about paying tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice for the nation.
Air Force veteran Barry B. Newstadt, the master of ceremonies at the 90-minute event, said that when men and women join the military, they write a check to the United States and leave the amount blank. "And the amount that is filled in goes up to your life," he said.
On the minds of almost everyone in the audience -- most of whom showed their affiliation to the armed services with their caps, hats, vests, shirts, pins, patches and sometimes full uniforms -- were the people who were not at the ceremony.
"I think of the people I served with," said Murray Kaye, 91, of Wilmington. "Their names are on that wall," he said about the massive memorial to those from Delaware and New Jersey who died in World War II and the Korean War. The wall acted as a backdrop for Sunday's event.
Kaye, a veteran of World War II and Korea, said he was at Omaha Beach during the Normandy invasion.
"I still ... get excited when I see the flag and hear taps," he said. "Don't forget those who went before us."
In between greeting old friends and acquaintances, Jim Hudson, 67, a veteran of the U.S Marine Corps and the Army National Guard, said Sunday's event was also about showing support for the troops who are still abroad, risking their lives and serving the nation.
Along with representatives from 50 military and veterans groups, attendees included Gov. Jack Markell and Sen. Ted KAUFMAN, D-Del., along with the two men who hope to succeed KAUFMAN -- U.S. Rep. Mike Castle, R-Del., and New Castle County Executive Chris Coons. All, along with a number of other local and state politicians, offered brief remarks to pay their respects.
KAUFMAN said that the men and women who serve in the military are needed, especially with the nation engaged in two wars abroad -- in Iraq and Afghanistan -- while those at home remain in a state of "increased vigilance" against militant groups that seek to destroy the United States and its way of life.
Lt. Gov. Matt Denn also noted that 14 Delawareans have so far paid the ultimate price while serving in Iraq.
The featured speaker, retired Navy Capt. J. Charles Plumb, who spent six years as a prisoner during the Vietnam War alongside Arizona Sen. John McCain, recalled all the "parachute packers" who made it possible for U.S. residents to enjoy freedom.
Plumb was captured after he was shot down over Vietnam in 1967 and had to bail out of his fighter jet. Years after he was released from captivity, Plumb said, he managed to meet the man who packed the parachute he used when his plane was shot down.
"I guess it worked," Plumb recalled the man saying.
He also talked about his time as a prisoner of war and how one fellow prisoner, a young enlisted man from the Navy, Douglas Hegdahl, made it his mission to memorize the names of some 200 fellow prisoners, their hometowns, Social Security numbers, next of kin and phone numbers. When he was released, he visited or spoke with every family member to let them know their loved ones were alive and in captivity.
Plumb ended his comments by tapping out a code prisoners used to communicate from cell to cell. It translated as "God Bless You" and "God Bless America."
After the ceremony at the bridge's war memorial, a second ceremony took place at the Delaware Veterans Cemetery in Bear.
The event was sponsored by the Jewish War Veterans Department of Delaware and the Delaware Commission of Veterans Affairs.
