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Veterans, families honor fallen soldiers

Standing before a field of miniature flags and veterans’ markers Sunday, retired Coast Guard Admiral James M. Loy listed locations any veteran would recognize: Anzio, Incheon and the Bulge, among many others.

Those locations — the sites of some of America’s most storied battles — represent the “what” of fallen servicemen and women’s contributions, Loy said. But the “why” is something else entirely.

That “why,” Loy said, can be best summed up by reading the First Amendment to the Constitution.

“In a sense, those words resonate as the soul of our country,” the Altoona native told a Memorial Day crowd at Alto-Reste Park Cemetery.

The Sunday ceremony brought veterans, family members and well-wishers together to honor fallen military personnel on a gray afternoon. Before an honor guard and a contingent of Marines, they sang the national anthem, released doves and listened to readings in memory of the dead.

Kim Vandevander, admissions and marketing director at the Hollidaysburg Veterans Home, recalled her childhood at a family greenhouse — walking cemeteries each Memorial Day to leave flowers at veterans’ graves.

“My father would kneel and say a prayer at each gravesite, thanking them for their service,” Vandevander said.

While the precise origin of Memorial Day is uncertain, she pointed to its early name of Decoration Day and its first observances after the Civil War. Since then, fallen servicemembers from dozens of conflicts have joined the commemorations.

“Many of them didn’t ask to leave their homes. … They were called upon to be part of something bigger than themselves,” Vandevander said.

While Memorial Day is specifically aimed at those lost during conflicts, the Sunday ceremony also honored those who survived — some of whom wore their old uniforms or insignia marking their service history. The crowd applauded as veterans rose to the tunes of their branches’ respective songs.

But with the laying of a wreath and the playing of taps and “Amazing Grace,” the day was dedicated to the dead.

“I think we have the right to call all these fallen veterans heroes,” said Loy, who commanded vessels during the Vietnam War before rising in the Coast Guard ranks and later serving in the George W. Bush administration. “In this beautiful, peaceful place we pause to give thanks to the people who fight to guarantee we retain those rights then, now and into the future.”

Mirror Staff Writer Ryan Brown is at 946-7457.

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