– Jena Program –
The annual LaSalle Parish Memorial Day program was held at the LaSalle Parish Courthouse in Jena on Monday, May 27. The event was sponsored by the Whatley-Flaherty VFW Post 5002.
Many residents attended the event, showing their respect and appreciation for the many service members who gave their lives while serving their country.
Serving as the Master of Ceremony was LCDR, US Navy, Retired Ralph McCrory, with the invocation and benediction offered by VFW District 10 Chaplin, US Air Force, Vietnam Veteran Ronald Liles.
The LaSalle Parish Veterans Honor Guard presented the American Flag, brought to half-staff as ordered for all national flags on Memorial Day.
Leading the Pledge of Allegiance was US Army, Gulf War Veteran Steve Thomas and the National Anthem sung by Emily Allen.
Delivering the keynote address was Representative, District 22, Louisiana House of Representatives, the Honorable Gabe Firment. (His entire speech is printed below.)
Following the speech, LTC, US Army, Retired – Iraq/Afghanistan Veteran, Rodney Russell provided the Roll Call, where he read the names of all LaSalle Parish natives who died on the battlefield during World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Iraq War.
David “Cowboy” Robertson, SFC, US Army, Retired – Vietnam/Gulf War Veteran, laid the Memorial Wreath at the Memorial Monument.
The Veterans Honor Guard concluded the program with the Soldier’s Cross – a Tribute to Fallen Comrades – a 21-Gun Salute and the playing of Taps.
Closing remarks were delivered by McCrory and the benediction was prayed by Liles.
Memorial Day Speech
By Gabe Firment
“Good morning, everyone, it is really an honor for me to be here with you on this special day set aside to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice – who laid down their lives so that we might enjoy freedom and peace in what remains the greatest nation the world has ever seen. Unfortunately, for many in our country today, Memorial Day has become more about barbecues, swimming parties, and big sales at the mall rather than the solemn and reverent day of remembrance that it was intended to be. I can’t tell you how much it means to me to see the great crowd assembled here today, and to see how much effort and hard work has gone into putting this event together – it is a true testament to this communities’ patriotism and devotion to traditional American values.
It is such a pleasure for me to be here this morning – we’ve been in session in Baton Rouge for almost 5 straight months now arguing about the budget, taxes, crime, education, insurance, etc. – and it can be a little disheartening at times to see that there are so many people who don’t share our values, or who are simply in office to pursue their own agendas, rather than representing the people who sent them there. But I can honestly say that all it takes to restore my sense of purpose and hope, is to come back home to Pollock, or to Jena, or to anywhere in LaSalle Parish – and I am reminded that the values we hold dear like hard work, justice, liberty, family, and faith are worth fighting for.
Last week in the House of Representatives we had a short Memorial Day ceremony that involved recognizing the Louisiana soldiers that were killed on D-Day – June 6th, 1944 – when Allied troops crossed the English Channel and stormed the coast of Normandy in the largest seaborne invasion in history – laying the groundwork for the liberation of France and ultimate victory on the Western Front. As part of the ceremony, the names of the 33 soldiers from Louisiana who lost their lives on D-Day were read aloud in the House Chamber, and one name in particular caught my attention – Private Raymond Clarence Bell of LaSalle Parish. I have been thinking about Private Bell since I heard his name last week, and I knew I could not speak to you today without mentioning his story and recalling his great sacrifice. There are probably some of you here today who know his story much better than I do – he had 10 brothers and sisters many of whom seemed to have lived most of their lives in and around Jena.
Private Raymond Clarence Bell was born on March 5, 1925, near Rhinehart in LaSalle Parish and he died on June 6, 1944, at the tender age of 19 while storming Omaha Beach as a member of Company A, 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division of the U.S. Army. Of the 200 soldiers who disembarked from the Infantry Landing Ship, SS Empire Javelin, 102 paid the ultimate price, including Private Bell. However, his sacrifice – and that of so many others – was not in vain, as the American blood shed on that rugged French coast would pave the way for the liberation of Europe and the end of Nazi tyranny that threatened democracy around the entire world.
Since hearing Private Bell’s name called last week, my thoughts have often been of his family – his mother and father, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles – who surely told him goodbye that last time with the understanding that death was possible, but hoping and praying that God would bring him back to Louisiana to pursue his dreams and start a family of his own. But sacrifice is the cornerstone upon which our country was built, and the message of Memorial Day is one of sacrifice – the selfless act of putting the greater good above one’s own safety, security, and comfort. In John 15:13 Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends”. Private Raymond Bell of LaSalle Parish and all those we remember today, answered the call to duty with unwavering courage and an unshakeable resolve so that we might enjoy the freedoms that we do today.
I could not consider the tremendous sacrifice of Private Bell and his family these past few days without thinking about my own life and how blessed I am that the LORD brought my father safely home from 2 tours in Vietnam as a 19-year-old U.S. Marine from Ball, Louisiana. I know we have many veterans here today who have similar stories – it is only by the grace of God that you came home while your brothers in arms paid the highest price by laying down their lives and sacrificing everything for our great nation. For the veterans here today, we sincerely appreciate your service, and it is an honor to join you in remembering your fallen friends who died so that we might live in peace and freedom.
It is for their sakes that we must never take the freedoms we enjoy today for granted – we must never forget that the freedom we enjoy in America has been earned over the course of almost 250 years by brave patriots who shed their blood and gave their lives for each and every one of us. Let us remember the profound words of President Ronald Reagan, who once said, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”
So, on this Memorial Day, as we honor the memory of those slain, let us also embrace the responsibility that comes with the freedoms they secured for us. Let their courage inspire us, their dedication guide us and their memory unite us in gratitude and respect. And let us be faithful to teach our children and grandchildren the value of freedom, so that they too will stand ready to defend it when tyranny once again threatens to tear down this great experiment in democracy we call America.
My friends we live in a dangerous time – the world is changing, and I am afraid that we could be called upon to defend our American ideals sooner rather than later. So, in closing I want us to reflect on the words of Benjamin Franklin, who warned that “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” This is a reminder that the liberties we enjoy today were fought for by men like Private Bell who understood that the security of our country rests not in the avoidance of conflict, but in the strength of our convictions and our willingness to stand up and fight for what is good, and right, and true.
Let me finish with this – if we could ask Private Raymond Clarence Bell of Rhinehart, LA if it was worth it, what would he say? What if we could go back and ask his heartbroken parents – was it worth it to lose your beloved son – what would they say? To answer that question all you have to is drive about 9 miles east of here to Pine Grove Cemetery and read the inscription on Private Bell’s tombstone: He stands in the unbroken line of Patriots who have dared to die that freedom might live and grow and increase its blessings. Freedom lives, and through it, he lives – in a way that humbles the undertakings of most men.
Those words inscribed on a tombstone just down the road from where we stand right now perfectly capture what today is all about – the men and women who died fighting for our country still live today through the freedom and liberty that we enjoy. Our duty – as beneficiaries of their sacrifice – is to remember them every day – not just on Memorial Day. We honor them by ensuring at all costs that their legacy is secure and their great sacrifice was not in vain.
Thank you all for being here. God bless you, God Bless our great state and God Bless the USA.”
