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The Sgt. (USMC) Jayton D. Patterson Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 4411 hosted a Memorial Day Ceremony on Monday, May 26, to pay tribute to the men and women of the U.S. military who gave their last full measure of devotion in service to their country.

The event, held at the Post’s headquarters near Franklin, featured an address from VFW Post 4411 Commander Jeffrey Draughn, the reading of a Memorial Day-themed poem by Mitch Simmons, a Flag Retirement Ceremony outdoors behind the headquarters, and a meal.

“It’s an honor to stand before you today on this solemn and sacred day,” Draughn said at the start of the Memorial Day Ceremony. “As veterans, we know that we gather not for barbecues, sales or the unofficial start of summer. We gather to remember. We gather to honor, we gather to pay tribute to the men and women who gave their last full measure of devotion to the nation. We gather for Memorial Day.

“I’m a proud member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, an organization whose very existence is rooted in service, in remembrance and ensuring that the sacrifices of our fallen are never, ever forgotten,” Draughn continued.

He noted that he has seen firsthand the power, weight and importance of Memorial Day.

“It’s a day that I fear too many of my fellow Americans have forgotten,” he said. “In the hustle and bustle of modern life, in the pursuit of leisure and recreation, the true meaning of Memorial Day can get lost. It becomes just another day off or another reason for a long weekend.

“But for those of us who served, for those of us who have lost friends and brothers and sisters in arms, it’s so much more,” he added. “It’s a day etched in blood, forged in sacrifice and hallowed by the memory of heroes. It’s a day to walk among the silent rows of white stones in our nation’s cemeteries, to read the names etched in granite and to feel the profound absence of those who should be standing here with us today.”

He then alluded to some of the major conflicts the U.S. has been involved in and the service members who answered the call in each case.

“Today we think of the young men who stormed the beaches of Normandy, not for glory but to defend the free world,” he said. “We remember the Americans, warriors who fought side by side in the frozen hills of Korea, not for conquest but for the survival of democracy. We honor the young Americans who fought in the jungles and rice paddies of Vietnam, not for an ideology but for their comrades. And we remember the American heroes, male and female, who fell in the deserts of Iraq and Afghanistan, not for oil but for the safety of our nation.”

He noted that the people honored on Memorial Day were sons and daughters, husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, and brothers and sisters.

“They were ordinary people called to arms who did extraordinary things,” he said. “They left behind families, dreams and futures, all for something larger than themselves. They did so that we might live, and that, my friends, is why we must remember. 

“We must remember the true cost of our freedom and that we owe them a debt of gratitude that we can never repay,” he added. “We must remember that freedom is not free and that it was purchased with the blood of our nation’s truest patriots.”

He then emphasized the importance of remembering these patriots and their sacrifices every day, not just on Memorial Day.

“It’s important that we teach our children their names and their stories and that we visit their memorials and keep their memories alive,” he said. “And we must continue to support their families and honor their legacy. If we forget, if we stop telling their stories, we dishonor their sacrifice and diminish their courage. If we forget, we risk repeating the mistakes of the past.

“As veterans and members of the VFW, we’re committed to ensuring that America never forgets,” he said. 

He further highlighted the role of VFW posts in serving their communities and continuing to support veterans and their families.

“So this Memorial Day, I ask you to join us, take a moment of silence, say a prayer, visit a cemetery, fly our flag and most importantly… remember,” he said. “Remember our nation’s heroes and their sacrifices. Remember their legacy and the families they left behind. And let us resolve together to live lives worthy of their sacrifice, to build a nation worthy of their devotion and to ensure that their memory lives on forever.”

The Flag Retirement Ceremony provided an opportunity for guests to bring their tattered or worn flags to be formally and respectfully retired by VFW members.

As flags were presented to be retired by fire, names of service members that have been killed in the line or duty or who have passed away were read aloud. The names were provided by those present at the event, and they were the names of veterans who were their friends, family members and/or Post 4411 members.