November 12 – A day of sunshine and blue skies captured the spirit of the 2024 Morgan County Veterans Day Parade and Ceremony, and speakers at the event emphasized to all that no matter the war or conflict, praise and appreciation should always be given to the men and women involved earn. recognition.
The ceremony was interrupted for about 30 minutes when an elderly veteran sitting in the back suffered a medical emergency and an ambulance was called. As emergency medical responders brought him out on a stretcher, the veteran gave a thumbs up and waved to those gathered to let them know he was okay. The crowd erupted in applause and prayers were said for the man.
Dozens of individuals, families and veterans attended Monday’s ceremony at the Morgan County Veterans Memorial at Veterans Park in Priceville.
Marine veteran and Priceville Mayor Sam Heflin read a proclamation from President Joe Biden declaring November 11 as Veterans Day. The Priceville High School band performed a medley of theme songs from the U.S. Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard.
As the band played, JROTC cadets came forward to place five berets in empty chairs. This action symbolized respect for the soldiers who were killed or missing.
Then retired Army Sgt. Maj. John Johnson, commander of Disabled American Veterans Chapter 11, delivered the invocation and introduced retired Navy Capt. David Picou as the guest speaker for this year’s meeting.
Picou said he served the country for 28 years and spoke to the crowd about the sacrifices veterans and their families have had to make, especially in times of war, to ensure freedom for a cause even greater than their own lives or well-being.
“Many of us have earned medals for bravery in combat and combat wounds during wartime and some veterans have returned home with missing limbs,” Picou said. “These wounded warriors will tell you they were only doing their duty to their unit and their country, and I believe them.”
Picou encouraged the community to embrace returning veterans and those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health conditions by offering resources and organizations that can help, such as maketheconnection.net and National Resource Directory. He also recognized local organizations such as the American Legion Post 15 in Decatur and Veterans of Foreign Wars organizations.
Picou cited the American public’s lack of respect for soldiers coming home from fighting in the Vietnam War and said he is grateful that veterans are being honored for their service today.
“Our Vietnam veterans have waited a long time for their country’s recognition and honor and I am grateful that we can continue to do so today,” Picou said. “We may not see ourselves as heroes, but our family, friends, community and our nation certainly are.”
After the ceremony, Vietnam Navy veteran Wayne Dunkin said he remembers coming home to Alabama after the war to find hostility and anger among the very people he vowed to serve and protect.
“Vietnam veterans didn’t get any credit at all when we came back; we were just proud that we came back alive,” Dunkin said. “There are a lot of good people who didn’t come back alive and that’s who we need to honor. We gave four years, and they gave everything. They gave their lives.”
Dunkin enlisted in 1966 and served four years in the Navy engineering department. He traveled to Vietnam on the USS Oriskany and completed a tour of duty in the Gulf of Tonkin. He also visited Pearl Harbor and Subic Bay in the Philippines.
“I did my tour there and then I came back to the United States and transferred to the USS Yorktown, and I served aboard there for two years to complete my tour,” Dunkin said. “I went to France, Germany, England, the Netherlands and traveled all over Guantanamo Bay and I went to the Arctic Circle.”
Dunkin, 77, a Priceville resident, said one of his proudest moments during the war was serving with his brother, Jerry Dunkin.
“My brother was already in the Navy and we served together, which was unusual in wartime,” Dunkin said. “He was with me on the Oriskany and Yorktown and that’s one of the reasons I switched from one ship to another, because he wanted me to follow him. We had to serve in battle and in peacetime.”
Army Vietnam veteran Curtis Burton at one point believed he would not leave Vietnam alive.
“I named my first daughter Curtrisa after Curtis because I didn’t think I would see her,” Burton said. “I named my second daughter Warvette.”
A native of Somerville, 77, Burton served in Chu Lai, Vietnam, in the 14th Field Artillery Regiment in 1968 and 1969. He said he enlisted after his brother-in-law and friend were killed in Vietnam.
“I actually wanted to avenge their deaths,” Burton said.
Burton still has vivid memories of combat, including a night when he witnessed the death of a fellow soldier.
“One night we were in a bunker and we got hit,” Burton said. “We had a guy trying to walk out of the bunker and his head got blown off and that still sticks in my mind. That was the worst thing I had seen.”
Burton also said he was not greeted warmly by American citizens when he returned from Vietnam.
“I wish they would recognize Vietnam veterans like they do other veterans; it seems like they want to leave us out of it,” Burton said.
Heflin overheard the conversation and replied to Burton, “That’s why we built this Veterans Memorial, so we want to make sure you guys are remembered.”
– wesley.tomlinson@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2442.
