Honoring the high cost of freedom

Sonoma’s 57th Memorial Day observance will be held on Monday, May 25. Events begin at 11 a.m. with a grand march of the flags of all services into the Veterans Memorial Park on First Street West.

The Guest of Honor and keynote speaker will be U.S. Congressman Mike Thompson, the first Vietnam veteran elected to the California State Senate. Thompson served in combat with the U.S. Army as a staff sergeant/platoon leader with the 173rd Airborne Brigade where he was wounded and received a Purple Heart.

“Memorial Day is a time for us to remember that no matter what we might think about war, we must always, always honor and salute our warriors,” Thompson said. “It is a day of remembrance. A day for families to remember the loved ones they lost, for servicemembers to remember their friends who fell next to them in battle, for our nation to remember the high cost of freedom – that those we honor were someone’s child, someone’s partner, someone’s parent.

“Generations of brave men and women have laid down their lives to protect the country we love, and preserve the ideals for which it stands. They could give no greater sacrifice. And we could owe no greater debt.

“So on this Memorial Day, let us honor our warriors the best way we know how: by taking care of the mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, sons and daughters, and fellow soldiers they left behind. And let us pray for peace – for the day when war is not a reality, but a far-distant memory.”

The Master of Ceremonies will be retired Marine Corps Reserve Colonel William E. Peacock. A Vietnam veteran, Colonel Peacock also served in a civilian capacity as the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs.

The ceremony includes patriotic music, Honor and Youth Color Guards, a tribute to David Reber, and an aerial fly-over. In keeping with a popular tradition that began only ten years ago with the unveiling of the Star of Honor fountain, all veterans are invited to wear their best military uniforms (or appropriate attire) and participate in the Grand March at the opening of the Ceremony.

To participate, muster at 10:30 a.m. sharp in the parking lot. Immediately following the ceremony, the Rotary Club of Sonoma Valley serves its “All-American Picnic” at the Veterans Building. Free vets, otherwise donations are encouraged.

Photo by Scott Knight