BLACK MOUNTAIN, N.C. (828newsNOW) —
Rain fell Monday morning like the tears of those who have lost parents, sons, daughters and friends in the wars of this nation.
But as the clock clicked closer to the start of the Memorial Day service at the Western North Carolina State Veterans Cemetery in Black Mountain, the rain tapered off, providing a somber background for the ceremony and the stories that add extra meaning to the day.
Vietnam veteran Alan Brett has been attending the service since he moved to the area a little more than three years ago.
“On the wall in Washington, I have over 100 names from my company,” he said, referring to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. “I am one of 10 survivors.”
That’s why he attends the service every year.
Allan Perkal said the day is about honor and sacrifice.
“We’re here to honor those who are buried here, who gave their lives,” the Vietnam veteran said.
Joanna Weber, the assistant director of the Western North Carolina VA Health Care System, which includes Charles George VA Medical Center in Asheville, said those who died are more than just names.
“Each name etched in stone tells a story,” Weber said. “Each headstone represents a story of bravery and sacrifice.”
They tell stories of the extraordinary valor of our service members, she said.
“Let us honor them by exemplifying the values they died to protect,” Weber said.
Keynote speaker Lt. Col. (Ret.) Harold (Ted) Minnick, U.S. Army, who was a field artillery battery commander in Vietnam from 1969-70, said the sacrifice made by the soldiers who died “will forever be a reminder of our nation’s strength.”
They were willing to sacrifice everything, he said.
“Everyone I served with I called a hero,” Minnick said.
Their deaths, though, touched more than just the loved ones they left behind.
“I lost battle buddies during combat. How do you write a letter to parents or a widow and children? Remember the ones we served with, bled with and lost,” he said. “Let’s carry their sacrifice in our hearts.”
CLICK HERE to see the service.
