ARNOLD: FALLEN SOLDIERS ‘WOVEN INTO THE FABRIC OF OUR COUNTRY’

State VFW leader and Menno resident offers personal and profound tribute to those who have lost their lives defending the United States

As the Monday morning wind whipped through the Menno City Cemetery, Anna Arnold stood before those scattered in chairs across the grounds of the sacred space and reflected on the oath she took when she entered the military in Dallas, Texas 22 years ago.

“I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So, help me God.”

“I thought I could very well die, especially since I enlisted merely months after 9/11 happened,” said Arnold, who lives in Menno with her family and is the state quartermaster and adjutant for the South Dakota VFW, and also commander of Post 792 in Yankton. “I would be defending the framework and the beliefs of a nation. I would do so against all enemies meaning I might have to fight to save my life, or another’s, or our way of life. I might have to do it far removed from the safety of our country, but the country would be safe …”

Arnold, who spent four years in the Army that included a deployment to Iraq, knows she is one of the fortunate Armed Service members who returned home; so many others throughout the United States’ history have not.

“Today, at events like this one, as well as cemeteries across the nation, communities come together to remember and to reflect on the service and sacrifice of those who paid the true cost of freedom — our fallen comrades,” she said. “Today, we honor not only those brave men and women who gave their lives, but also their families who bear a unique burden that only they can comprehend. Your support enabled your soldiers to carry out their mission of protecting us all, and for that, we are profoundly grateful. You carry on their legacy, raising their memory high like an unfurled flag, reminding us all of the true cost of freedom.”

Arnold also gave a brief history lesson.

“Memorial Day, as we know it today, was born Decoration Day in Waterloo, New York, back in 1866 when Henry Wells, a local drugstore owner, suggested that all businesses close for one day to honor, in a solemn and patriotic manner, the fallen soldiers who lost their lives during the Civil War. A group of confederate widows decorated fresh graves with wildflowers, the townspeople made wreaths and crosses to place upon the headstones, flags waved proudly at half-staff, and an American tradition was born.”

Arnold reflected on the 600,000-plus Union and Confederate soldiers who died in the bloody American conflict and the first national commemoration of Decoration Day in Arlington National Cemetery on May 30, 1868, where the fallen were buried.

Foreign wars followed the battle on America’s homeland, and Arnold noted that more than $1.2 million have lost their lives serving their country.

“Now, 158 years later, I stand before you on this proud day of remembrance and ask that you join me in not only remembering those who made the ultimate sacrifice for the good of this great nation, but in truly reflecting on their legacy.

“When their stories are shared in our neighborhoods, our homes, our schools and our places of worship, these men and women become a part of the collective identity of our hometowns. The stories of their sacrifices live on in the pride of memories of their loved ones and at observances and through inscriptions on memorials and plaques dedicated to the legacy of their generation. Woven into the fabric of our country are those who died while wearing the cloth of our nation.

“They instill a sense of pride among citizens,” Arnold continued. “They inspire new generations to raise their hands in service. There is no greater sacrifice than to offer one’s life for the greater good. As President Abraham Lincoln observed more than 150 years ago: ‘This extraordinary war in which we are engaged falls heavily upon all classes of people, but the most heavily upon the soldier. For it has been said, all that a man hath will he give for his life; and while all contribute of their substance, the soldier puts his life at stake, and often yields it up in his country’s cause. The highest merit, then, is due to the soldier.’”

Waltner offered her deepest gratitude to the Gold Star Families who “bear the greatest burden of your loved one’s sacrifice, and we can never thank you in a way that will make up for your loss. Allow me to express my appreciation to you on behalf of all those present today. We are humbled by your sacrifice, inspired by your resilience, and grateful for your continued and dedicated support for our military.”

It is because of American soldiers, she said, that the country stands as strong as it does.

“It is our responsibility as citizens to remember the nation’s brave fallen men and women — whether they died on foreign lands in the heat of battle or after a lifetime in the uniform of our Army,” she said. “Never forget the men and women who know all too much the cost of our freedom, for their service to this country is the greatest gift of all.”

The May 27 Memorial Day service was organized by the Rames-Bender Post 152 of the American Legion and included comments from the master of ceremonies, Commander Bob Rennolet, patriotic music provided by the Menno High School Band and Tom Ulmer and Dale Weiss, and the reading of the Honor Roll of the Honored Dead.