Memorial Day speaker tells Osage Centre crowd to pass down stories of veterans

When Memorial Day speaker Larry H. Ferrell asked the World War II veterans to raise their hand or stand and be recognized, about 20 men stood. Out of the hundreds of people who attended the Cape Girardeau's Joint Veterans Council Memorial Day service on Monday, these were the only veterans present.

The memorial took place at the Cape Girardeau Osage Centre on Monday morning to honor all veterans and pay homage to those who have been lost. The Cape Girardeau Municipal Band played at the event, and Mark and Lana Cook sang the national anthem as well as performed the song "If You're Reading This" by Tim McGraw. There was a tribute to the fallen, the draping of the POW/MIA flag and a gun salute with taps. Ferrell was the guest speaker at this year's service.

Sixteen million men fought during World War II, according to Ferrell. And today about 1 million of those men are left.

"It's sad to me that most children born today will never meet a veteran of World War II," Ferrell said during his speech.

He continued, saying many children will think World War II is just a distant of a time as the Revolutionary War, and that children today don't realize that these men are still living heroes.

Ferrell stood very proud in front of the audience; there was no doubting his sincerity or the gratitude he had for every soldier in that room. He was chosen to speak at the service because of his position as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri, his close ties to the Cape Girardeau area and the fact that he also visited Iraq as a justice attache to the U.S. Embassy.

Ferrell is a former Cape Girardeau County prosecuting attorney who visited Iraq twice as a justice attache in Baghdad to assist prosecutors in preparing evidence for war crimes, including the trial of Saddam Hussein. He spent nine months in 2006 in Baghdad and 13 months from 2008 to 2009.

During this time he prepared evidence to present to the Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal in cases of war crimes. According to the information provided by the VFW Ferrell reviewed hundreds of thousands of cases of torture under Hussein's reign.

Attendees of the service were very impressed with Ferrell's speech.

"Very good, he was very good," Larry Blattel said. "Most people don't hold my attention all the way through, but he held my attention -- all the way through."

Jackie Cowan also thought the speaker was excellent, saying he even made her tear up during his talk.

"I did enjoy the speaker; made me cry," Cowan said. "I'm just an emotional person, so it's okay. It was a good thing."

Cowan is from Sikeston and has attended the memorial service many times in the past. She said her favorite part about the service is hearing the Municipal Band play.

"I always enjoy the band and I think the arms salute is very good," she said. "It's very nice for all the veterans, I think that's what today should be all about."

While speaking Ferrell used examples of heroic soldiers from the past, quoting men such as General Norman Schwarzkopf and retired Army officer Van Thurman Barfoot, commemorating their service and exemplifying what they did for their country.

In his final remarks, Ferrell mentioned things people could do next Memorial Day in addition to their current activities. Instead of flying the American flag one day out of the year, fly it every day; visit those in veterans homes to thank them for their service; and most importantly pass down stories of World War II veterans, or any veteran, to the younger generation, ensuring the heroes of the past are never forgotten.

smaue@semissourian.com

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