MARTIN, Tenn. – U.S. military members who died in service to the country were remembered during the University of Tennessee at Martin’s 25th Memorial Day Commemoration ceremony. The commemoration was held May 23 on the north plaza of the main campus between the Boling University Center and the Paul Meek Library. U.S. Rep. David Kustoff (R-TN 8th District) and Tennessee Army National Guard retired Maj. Gen. Mike Maloan of Martin were among those who spoke to university and community members to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Lt. Col. Bernard House, UT Martin professor of military science, was master of ceremonies and welcomed those attending. He introduced UT Martin Chancellor Yancy Freeman who added his welcome and noted the annual observance’s importance.
“Memorial Day is a moment to pause, reflect and honor those who make the ultimate sacrifice to defend the freedoms we hold dear,” Freeman said. “As members of a university community dedicated to knowledge, service and integrity, we carry the responsibility of remembering not only through ceremony but through our actions and our commitment every single day.”
Freeman quoted a famous U.S. senator and military hero about the importance of persistence in all aspects of life, including honoring those who have sacrificed for freedom.
“In the words of Senator John McCain, a decorated Navy veteran and former prisoner of war, ‘Glory belongs to the act of being constant to something greater than yourself – to a cause, to your principles, to the people on whom you rely, and to the people who rely on you,’” Freeman said. “Let us be constant in our remembrance and let us strive to live in a way that honors the memory of those who have served and fallen.”
Kustoff followed Freeman on the program and offered his thoughts about Memorial Day and those being remembered.
“With Memorial Day, we gather to pay tribute and mourn the men and women who sadly can’t be with us today,” Kustoff said. “That’s really the true meaning of Memorial Day. … Monday and this weekend is about remembering and honoring those Americans who put on that uniform and never came home.”
Kustoff recalled attending the 80th anniversary of D-Day last year in France with a bipartisan congressional delegation. Men were there who stormed the Normandy beaches June 6, 1944. Following the ceremony, he and other colleagues visited the cemetery where the Battle of Normandy dead are buried. The experience reminded him of the true cost of freedom.
“We think about the United States, the land of the free and the home of the brave,” he said. “We remain that way, and our flag stands strong because of the heroics and the sacrifices that they made.”
Maloan closed the event as the commemoration’s guest speaker. Maloan is the chancellor for the 27th District Chancery Court that presides over Obion and Weakley counties.
“For many, these men and women are strangers, unfamiliar names read on memorials or heard called out during ceremonies like today,” Maloan told the audience, “But for others, those brave soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guard were our families, friends, members of our community. They represented everything good about being an American.”
Maloan briefly told the stories of two Tennesseans who lost their lives as combat heroes: U.S. Army Lt. James Gardner of Dyersburg who died in Vietnam and Marine Capt. Brent Morel of Martin, a 1999 UT Martin graduate, who died in Iraq. Gardner was awarded the Medal of Honor, and Morel received the Navy Cross for their bravery. Brent’s parents, Mike and Molly Morel, attended the commemoration.
“Like so many before them, Captain Morel and Lieutenant Gardner were talented and heroic young men, full of promise and possibility, who put all they had aside and gave their lives for their nation,” Maloan said. “There are countless others who made similar sacrifices, and there’s no amount of thanks or recognition we could ever bestow upon them for what they gave for us.”
The commemoration included participants from the immediate area and region. The national anthem was performed by Madison Butner, a senior music major from Union City, the colors were presented by the UT Martin Army ROTC Skyhawk Battalion, and a 21-gun salute was presented by the university’s Department of Public Safety and Martin Police Department. Taps were played by Jonah Simmons, a May music graduate from Greenfield, and retired U.S. Navy Chaplain Debra McGuire of Paris offered the invocation and benediction.
Memorial Day is observed annually on the last Monday in May and honors those who have died in service to the U.S. The observance was originally named Decoration Day in 1868, changed to Memorial Day in 1882 and declared a national holiday in 1971.