Gallery: Jefferson City Veterans Council 2022 Memorial Day Ceremony
Jefferson City Veterans Council hosted its annual Memorial Day program Monday morning at the Veterans Memorial on the north side of the Capitol.
The program began with the Jefferson City Sea Cadets presenting colors followed by the Pledge of Allegiance, Star Spangled Banner and a prayer. Mayor Carrie Tergin then provided remarks.
"Words alone cannot say enough to thank those in the military who have stood up for, fought for and died for our freedoms," Tergin said. "By being here today, your presence shows that appreciation, and there is something very special about being in this peaceful setting among the Veterans Memorial."
She encouraged the crowd to keep the spirit of Memorial Day alive every day of the year and to teach the next generation to do the same.
"Thank a veteran and those in active military duty every day," she said. "Remember to vote every time. They fought hard for these freedoms and others. Don't take it for granted. Remember the families of those served, in your prayers and in your actions."
Col. Eric Olson, superintendent of the Missouri Highway Patrol, then read Gen. John Logan's Order that designated May 30 "for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion."
Originally called Decoration Day in 1868, its name was legally changed to Memorial Day in 1971 when it became a federal holiday that always lands on the last Monday of May.
"Soldiers, veterans and grateful citizens continue to honor that sacrifice of our fallen each May on the last Monday of the month in ceremonies like this one all across our great nation," Jefferson City High School Principal Bob James, who served five years in the U.S. Army, said in his keynote address. "We gather in memory of their courage, their bravery and their sacrifice."
Their sacrifice "warrants more than a few fleeting moments of appreciation," he continued.
"Words feel very insufficient to express the debt we owe our servicemen and women who have given their lives to secure the freedom and the liberty that you and I enjoy so much," he said.
So how do we fully appreciate their sacrifice? By recommitting to "being the Americans our soldiers felt were worth dying for," he said.
"I've reflected a great deal since being asked to speak here today on how I might answer that question, and there's a long list of obligations that I feel we should be committed to as grateful Americans," James said. "I've chosen just a few that were important to me to speak with you today about."
One of them, he said, is to have an allegiance to freedom.
"Freedom has been established as a fundamental cornerstone of what it means to be American," he said. "The exercise of this freedom allows us to be here today in the land of the free and honoring our brave."
Another obligation is never forget the "force that comes to bear when we act indivisibly, when we act on behalf of the greater good, while maintaining our individual liberties," he said, noting that division causes us to lose sight of our American values, such as equality, inalienable rights, individual liberty and democracy.
"We must act to close the gaps between us to find common ground and a common voice," he said. "And when we cannot agree on the issues, we must agree on our identity when pursuing solutions. We must agree to be Americans first and then move forward undivided."
After James' speech, VFW Secretary Lynn Vineyard and President Don Hentges then directed the Two Bell Ceremony, where a bell is sounded at the calling of each veteran's name. People in the crowd stood up as their loved ones' names were called. The ceremony concluded with a gun salute and taps.