The West Louisiana Veterans Memorial Park and DAV Chapter 21 held a Memorial Day Program at the location in Toledo Town. There were over 50 people in attendance.
DAV Chapter 21 Commander and Department 3rd Jr. Vice Pam Russell, Navy veteran and LDVA service officer, opened the event by explaining what Memorial Day was supposed to be about, not the living, but the ones that fought the battles before us. She announced the recent veterans that have died from the area.
DAV Chapter 21 Adjutant and Treasurer Vera Kingsley, Marine veteran sang the Star Spangled Banner acapella.
The guest speakers were Mr. Bobby Williams of Florien, LA. He served in the US Army during WWII. He spoke about how 5 men that he grew up with were called to duty and never returned to their families. He also spoke about how important it is that as a country support those that are defending our freedoms. Freedom is very expensive and every generation has paid the price for us through their ultimate sacrifice.
Most countries only survive 200 years, he continued. We have surpassed that by almost fifty years. We need to be aware of this.
Khrushchev was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and when he visited the US in 1959, he told then president Dwight Eisenhower that our country will fall without a shot being fired. It will go down through the ballot box.
This is why it is so important that we all know who we are voting for and what they stand for.
There have been over 300,000 people have sacrificed their lives for us.
Mr. Bill Backell, another WWII veteran spoke about some of his stories from the war. He worked as a line chief on the flight line and was once stationed at the Marshall Islands. They would catch rides to different parts of the island on bomb dollies, which ran 24 hours a day and only went about 3 to 5 miles per hour. One time he witnessed a good friend of his trying to jump on the train and Reggie didn’t make it. Instead, he was ran over by the train and immediately killed. He remembers Reggie and his tragic accident every memorial Mr. Backell was in charge of the daily flight schedule and scheduled the plane that he worked on for the last flight of the day. Aircraft 110 crashed that day about 50 miles off of the coast of Iceland. After several attempts of search and rescue, only one life vest was found.
One time he was tasked with defueling two aircraft that held a lot more fuel than the 700 gallon fuel truck that was presented to him to use to perform this task. Instead of using the truck, he towed the aircraft to the edge of the island and dumped that fuel into the bay. About 3 days later, the captain of a tanker that was cruising by, was cited and arrested with dumping fuel into the bay.
After the guest speakers, DAV Chapter 21 Sr. Vice Walter Korb, an Army veteran and retiree, presented the POW/MIA table and taps.
DAV Chapter Chaplain Benton Crittenden, an Army veteran, opened and closed the program with prayer.
Food and fellowship immediately followed the program.
The chapter meets on the 2nd Thursday of every month at 5:30 with a potluck meal at 29336 Hwy 191 in Toledo Town, Many. Members of the DAV are prior service members. Members of the DAV auxiliary can be any person that is associated with a veteran.
Visitors are encouraged to participate in showing our community how to honor and respect the US Flag and to volunteer to assist other veterans and family members in their times of need.