AREA REMEMBERS FALLEN VETS

Memorial Day services in the region Monday attracted large crowds of people who gathered to honor fallen veterans in special military services.

About 200 veterans and their families gathered in the Osage Community Centre for the annual Memorial Day service sponsored by the Joint Veterans Council in Cape Girardeau. The council consists of representatives from Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3838, American Legion Post 63, Area Vietnam Veterans Support Group, Disabled American Veterans and Pearl Harbor Survivors.

Patriotic music performed by the Cape Girardeau Municipal Band, special flag presentations by color guards and a gunfire salute were included in the ceremonies, which were moved from Cape Girardeau County Park because of the threat of rain.

Navy Reserve Cmdr. Thomas Gunnell was the guest speaker for the event, which was also attended by U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau, and state Reps. David Schwab, R-Jackson, and Mary Kasten, R-Cape Girardeau.

Gunnell emphasized the need for continued military vigilance in order to maintain the freedom American's enjoy. The world is constantly changing, he said, and liberty and freedom cannot be left to chance.

"We must keep our faith in God and country, and when necessary fight to keep us free," he said. "If we must pay the price of death, let no one and no country misunderstand that we will fight again and again and again."

Emerson was guest speaker at the Memorial Day ceremony at the Veterans of All Wars Memorial in Brookside Park at Jackson. The ceremony and memorial, sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 10495 and its auxiliary, included an Avenue of Flags display. More than 480 flags, each placed in memory of a deceased veteran, lined the park throughout the day.

Emerson emphasized the need for a strong military force, saying the nation could ill-afford the "complacency and cutbacks" that have characterized the Clinton administration. The world is a volatile and uncertain place, and cuts in defense funding are unwise and hurt the integrity of the military, she said.

She stressed the need for focused efforts to protect and preserve peace by maintaining a strong and unified military force. American troops should only fight in conflicts with significant American interest, she said, and should never fight under foreign or international command.

The Kelso TWP Memorial Post 6407 and its auxiliary sponsored services to recognize veterans and their families at Lightner Memorial Cemetery east of Scott City. Post commander Gary Ziegler, a Marine veteran of the Vietnam War, was guest speaker.

Flags were placed on all known veteran graves at Lightner Memorial and other cemeteries in the area after the event.