 Well, good afternoon everybody and welcome to the 2019 Memorial Day ceremony here at the Vermont Veterans Memorial Cemetery I'm Robert Burke director of the state of Vermont Office of Veterans Affairs As you can see a new way in construction continues for year five now at the cemetery But lots of improvements going on and continue to make the place beautiful Many thanks to the efforts of building and General Services Commissioner Chris Cole for his efforts in helping us to secure the funding For this part of the project Chris also serves as chair of the Cemetery Advisory Board At this time, I'd like to recognize some distinguished guests and attendants today former Governor Governor Douglas and his wife Dorothy members of the Vermont Legislature members of the Cemetery Advisory Board Vermont families of the fallen Also our cemetery staff who keep this place looking so good Robert Turkey Colin Johnson Zach Grubb and Michael Harper from the Office of Veterans Affairs my colleague Ed Burkhart We are also joined by the American Red Cross the White River Valley Ambulance Service the Vermont State Guard and Dave Gallison from BGS all helping us out to make this go well today Finally and most importantly all of the veterans and their families gathered here today We've come together today to remember all those buried here and elsewhere who died as a result of their physical and mental wounds inflicted through service to their country On the back of your programs in is the poem in Flanders Field The short appointment poem was composed by then Major John McCrae a Surgeon with the Canadian Army who spent 17 grueling days at a field hospital in Ypres West Flanders Belgium during World War one It was a second battle of the pre During 1915 the first battle having taken place a year earlier Proud to joining the Canadian expeditionary force at age 41. He had written to a friend stating I am really rather afraid but more afraid to stay at home with my conscience The death of a dear friend during this action led him to compose the poem and Looking out over his grave. He could see the poppies blooming in the fields of Flanders The first verse casts a visualization for the readers Before it flows into the torment. He was experiencing at the time We will now assemble the colors all about the national anthem Ladies and gentlemen if you are able please rise and remain standing crown national anthem Commander present the colors You see By the dawn's early light What so bright at the twilight's last gleaming Whose broad stripes and bright stars Through the perilous so gallantly Oh say does that Starspan Thank you, Harry. Ladies and gentlemen, please be seated at this time Vermont State Guard Colonel Pat Boyden will offer an invocation and blessing of the colors Let us pray Almighty God creator and sustainer of all life We ask that your blessings descend upon us as we gather here today We thank you for this opportunity to once more gather in freedom To honor our veterans of our nation's armed forces May we never forget those who made the supreme sacrifice So as to secure for our nation the blessings of life liberty and justice for all May our observance be a timely reminder that our freedom was purchased at a high cost and Should not be taken for granted Bless the family and friends of those we honor here today and bless all the veterans and the members of our armed forces Defending our freedom and now I'll bless the colors Almighty God creator of all and companion in all life. We ask for your continued blessing here upon us and Our assembled colors. We give you thanks for our nation and our colors and the freedom they represent We give you thanks for the many times that we have gathered under our nation's flag May it remind us of our service to our nation and its people and May it remind us that as we are called forth to war We continue to be called forth to serve in peace Amen, thank you Colonel Boyden last year marked the hundredth the hundredth anniversary of World War one and we continued this year to recognize the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War We have had events to honor and remember those who fought in these wars Please join me now in a quiet moment of reflection for all those we celebrate today who have made the ultimate sacrifice Thank you Our congressional delegation is well represented today Leading off is Mr. John Tracy from Senator Leahy's office. Good afternoon. It's an honor to be here on behalf of Senator Leahy Every year when we celebrate Memorial Day acknowledge that I kind of struggled with what to say It's a solemn day and I thought this year I would read a letter that a mother left at the wall the Vietnam Memorial for her son Jimmy Who she lost in August of 1968? It's a universal message. Those who have lost people understand the pain My dear Jimmy It's time to honor our war dead again and darling. I could cry my heart out Your father Warren died part of me died with you. I'm still fighting a war. I know I can never win Try and live without you. My heart is broken forever No one knows how hard it is to love and lose unless you've gone through it. I Carry in my mind every minute of my life. I talk to your pictures Say I love you and miss you and want to see you so very very bad, but darling pictures can't talk back. I Tend to your grave and I sit and I talk to you but graves can't talk back If love and tears could have saved you you would be here today. I Go on my knees and thank God for the pleasure of having you for 20 years I thank him over and over again for the grandson. You gave us. I Thank God every day for my two wonderful sons my Jimmy and my Wayne Mumble loves you and forever keep you in my heart until I see you some sweet day again never depart as I prepare to go to Washington. I know what you I wish to see but I'll see your name darling It means you're not coming home to me. I honor respected my hero Jimmy. That means so much to me I'm sitting here talking to you tonight the way we used to do but I can't hold your hand and say Jimmy Mom loves you. I Didn't want you to go but you had a job to do Jimmy I'm so glad I held you in my arms and told you how much I loved you that day at Bird Airport When you came back, they wouldn't even let me touch you darling. I didn't think that was fair You were my son. I will never forgive them. I gave birth to you and raised you and baked so hard Just put my arms around you and kiss you goodbye Jimmy I would say good night for this time. I will be talking to you tomorrow. I will never forget you Your memories are my treasures. I will never let go of them. I love you and miss you more and more loving kisses mom On behalf of Senator Lee, I thank you for remembering and to honor their lives. We should live ours today can be on it. Thanks Thank you, John Next representing the office of senator Sanders is Catherine Becker van haste Thank you, Bob, and thank you to everyone for being here today on such an important occasion on behalf of senator Sanders Thank you to all of you here today who have worn the uniform in service to this country and the family members Because from Bernie's perspective, we know you serve right alongside your loved one When they go to battle and you go with them When Bernie made a message on Memorial Day on Recognized Memorial Day on Monday one of the comments he made was He worries that young people today don't fully Recognize the true meaning of Memorial Day And I think it's great to see that we have some young people with us today Honoring and recognizing today and what it truly stands for that. It's not just the start of summer Barbecues and time for friends those are all great things But that this is a day to truly honor and recognize those who have in the words of President Lincoln Given the last true measure of devotion to this country Part of I think how we honor the sacrifice of those who gave their lives in this country is to make sure That we provide the services and the benefits to those who are left All of the Gold Star families the spouses the siblings the parents and the children Who have lost a loved one? We have a solemn duty to insure that they have the services and benefits that their country promised them when their loved one signed up To serve this country. So today and every day Let's on behalf of Senator Sanders commit ourselves to making sure that we serve them as they served us. Thank you very much Thank you, Katie Representing Senator Welch's office this afternoon is Elizabeth Morris. Hello, and thank you for that Um, I have a letter from my congressman that I'd like to read for you all here today He unfortunately was unable to be here in person Dear friends, thank you to Governor Scott major General Knight and Robert Burke for including me in today's event I regret that I'm unable to be with you today for this Memorial Day ceremony Though there are no longer with us those Romaners who have given their lives as members of the armed forces Continue to serve they serve as a reminder of what it means to be a patriot What it means to take up arms and defense of your nation and what it means to demonstrate incredible courage in the face of terrible adversity Ceremonies like this one happening all over the state and country are important ways for communities to come together and remember those Who gave their lives in service to our country? Words can't express the grief that family members friends and fellow service members experience when they lose someone to war Memorial Day helps to acknowledge that grief and hopefully helps to combine it with pride May we all continue to share the sorrow of our monitors lost in the field of combat and in the pride of their courage on our behalf To the veterans active duty service members and families here today Thank you for being here to honor our fallen service members And thank you for your service and sacrifice on behalf of our great nation Sincerely congressman Peter Welch Thank you, Elizabeth Many thanks to the governor to two governors for joining us today Previously governor scott served as lieutenant governor and as state vermont state representative representing washington county senate district from 2001 through 2011 please join me in welcoming governor scott Thank you director burke and i appreciate the invitation to join you all again here today As we pay tribute to vermont's fallen heroes I don't want to thank the members of the legislature and the cemetery advisory board for being here today as well As well as governor douglas and dorthy Most importantly is an honor to have so many military families amongst us And especially our gold star families In the early summer of 1944 the world had been at war for nearly six years Free nations were occupied by enemy armies democracies had fallen and war was spreading in nearly every direction On the morning of june 6 the atlantic alliance led by our first army Along with the british and canadian forces Prepared to engage nazi germany on the shores of northern france I often wonder If those soldiers those young men had any idea how much was at stake that day I also wonder if they felt the weight of what rested on their shoulders Or if they had any concept as to how that day would help end the war in less than a year End genocide Liberate millions from oppression and bring peace to europe that continues to this day What happened on the beaches of normandy 75 years ago next week And those who sacrificed their lives must never be forgotten Just like yorktown Gettysburg and so many others The d-day invasion was a pivotal moment in history When free people stood and fought against oppression and died to defend freedom liberty and equality In the 243 years since the revolution nearly every generation in america has stepped up to serve this cause Like herald bergeron from essyx vermont Who served in the 66th infantry division during war war two? herald's transport was torpedoed by german u-boat crossing the england's channel en route to the battle of the bulge He was able to jump on to a rescue boat Sparing him the same fate of the nearly 800 men who died that christmas eve 1944 herald passed away earlier this year at 104 He was the oldest living world war two vet in vermont at the time I had the pleasure of meeting him last summer when the local vfw organized an event to paint the house He was still living in independently It was remarkable albert sponimer of east rygate was awarded the silver star for gallantry Thanks to his heroic work as a medic He saved countless lives while continually exposing himself to heavy enemy fire on the shores of normandy Kimball richmond of winsor was at d-day two He had to swim to shore under a hail of machine gun boats and artillery fire after his boat was struck and and sunk On land he gathered what was left of his men and moved inland Against enemy forces He was awarded the distinguished service cross for his personal bravery and disregard for his own safety In service to those in his command and his mission These are just a few of the thousands of vermonters who have stepped up to serve Our tiny state has shouldered more than our share of the sacrifice Answering our nation's call each and every time freedom has been threatened at home and around the world I know today we're joined by the family members of those who have given their lives in defense of our nation On behalf of all vermonters, I want to thank you for your sacrifice My father was a disabled warward too vet from washington vermont Who served in patin's third army? He was injured when his tank hit hit a landmine in the days after the d-day invasion Those of those injuries eventually took him from this world when I was 11 So I know your pain as well as your pride Serving your country is an honor But giving your life to protect our freedoms is honorable to the highest degree I want you all to know we will never forget those who sacrifice so much We live in freedom thanks to them And it's important that we don't forget how they lived This as well as how they died And as more than just names and dates engraved on granite and marble memorials President Coolidge said The place with witsi's heroic figures hold in history is forever more secure They did not hesitate They did not yield They met their duty squarely For its fulfillment they were prepared to give their fortunes and their lives It ought never to be forgotten that it was out of this spirit Supported by these sacrifices that our country was established So today, after a long cold winter, let us mark the first signs of summer By thanking all the heroes who never came home And those heroes yet to come We can never do enough to honor you The saying thank you is a perfect start So thank you Thank you Governor Scott Our new adjutant general joins us today to share his thoughts on this day of remembrance Brigadier General Gregory Knight has had a long and distinguished career He served 35 years in uniform to include the United States Coast Guard, Vermont Air National Guard and Vermont Army National Guard where he was commissioned In 2000 he was selected for active regard active guard and reserve duty And continued to serve in that capacity until his election as Vermont's adjutant general a few months ago Please welcome Brigadier General Greg Knight Thank you, Bob. Appreciate it. Hello everybody Thank you so much for being here today. It means a lot Before I get into my prepared remarks, I would share with you that Memorial Day has a Special meaning to me certainly after our deployment from 2005 to 2006 so I understood it and knew it before then But following that deployment where we lost 15 of our soldiers And one of our marines in our battalion. We lost 83 In our brigade I can assure you it has certainly more meaning to me now than it ever did And it is important that today at least we remember those who have gone before us They did give their last full measure of devotion to our nation to us We must remember them We are their legacy regardless of the conflict The purity of their sacrifice and the honor of their services without question Our fallen gave their lives in order to guarantee our freedom And make the freedom of others possible To quote from the book of john 1513 Greater love has no one than this To lay down one's life for one's friend There are hundreds of stories to tell about our fallen and so many examples to learn from Many of them are here in this cemetery. I see names that I recognize These are my friends my colleagues Dan Cotter Michael Heston Larry Sutier Please let me remind you That the heroes we remember today are not exclusive to any service Any gender race religion economic background They're a diverse group united By the common principle That america and the people they serve are worth dying for They will and should be forever in our hearts And foremost in our thoughts As we observe Memorial Day every year also Please keep our goal star families and your prayers I've mentioned it before at other speeches and I will mention it until the day I am done Remember them because they remember their fallen loved ones every day These families have also sacrificed So it is certainly up to us to be there for them to give them the support that they need And express our highest gratitude I'm going to leave you with my favorite quote Because I truly believe it succinctly captures the spirit of our fallen It's from Thucydides an Athenian historian in general The bravest are surely Those who have the clearest vision of what is before them Glory and danger alike And yet notwithstanding Go out to meet it Thank you again for being here today and god bless all of you Thank you general knight Before taps is played the spalding high school rotc firing party will offer a 21 gun salute to honor those who have fallen If you are able, please stand Thank you. Please be seated Colonel Boyden will now offer a benediction In closing may we honor and remember All our fellow vermoners honored here Who died in the service of our country and their families And all those other veterans and loved ones buried in this beautiful vermont veterans memorial cemetery Dear lord, we ask your continued blessings and peace for those now defending our freedom As we depart from one another this day may god bless us and keep us Into his gracious protection we commit ourselves May god be nearest to defend us with us to refresh us Around us to preserve us before us to guide us behind us to justify us and above us To keep us from all evil God bless america Amen Thank you. Colonel If you are able, please rise as we retire the colors Before we close and invite you to the global war on terror memorial The names of the the names on the monument memorialized Baran's fallen in operation enduring freedom and operation iraqi freedom A wreath laying will be conducted at this time. Also, please be aware that the area is under construction So please stay within the defined areas This concludes our ceremony this afternoon. Thank you all for joining us and coming today and please drive safely on the way home