by Denise Garlick, Vice-Chairman of the Needham Board of Selectmen:
Good Morning. This morning we gather in our town center, like Americans in towns all across our country. We pause to honor Memorial Day. We call this a holiday.
MemorialDay.com tells us that in the history of the United States more than 35 million men and women have answered the call to arms. In the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and countless unnamed military engagements.
Some of these soldiers came from Needham. They walked the streets we walk, stood here in this Town Center, went to our schools by day and cruised down Great Plain Avenue in the early evening.
They loved and were loved by their families, they laughed with their friends, prayed in our churches and they dreamed their own special dreams.
Some Needham soldiers and more than half a million others never came home. Some died in battle or as prisoners of war, all died too soon. Ongoing military action today in Afghanistan and Iraq reminds us of the human reality of war: ordinary men and women leaving their homes and families and all they know- to risk their lives for an ideal of honor or duty.
People of patriotism and goodwill may debate, and should debate, the merits of any given war, police action, or humanitarian mission. But there should be no debate about our debt to our fellow Needham soldiers and the hundreds of thousands of our American citizens who have given the ultimate sacrifice of their lives- answering the nation's call to service.
So today we pause and express our acknowledgement and our gratitude.
But what truly matters is that we know and understand the meaning of this great sacrifice and that we honor the lives of these Needham servicemen and women – all servicemen and women through our daily actions.
Pause for a moment, yes, but live so that we daily earn, value and honor all that these lives have sacrificed to preserve, promote and protect.
Our soldiers do not truly die, but live on in us.
I would like to share a poem “Do not stand by my grave and weep” by Mary Elizabeth Frye that I have adapted for today,
Do not stand at my grave and weep;
I am not there. I do not sleep.
I am the American Flag that snaps in the wind
I am the anthem that rings out in the school room, the Town Meeting, the ballpark
I am the voice that registers to vote
I am the summons to jury duty
When you stand on the street corner and lament the local politician; or blame the state legislator or question the President
I am the reason your voice is free
I am the possible dream of the child who wants to be a scientist, an astronaut, a Governor
I am the spirit that rebuilds America time and time again.
Do not stand at my grave and cry;
I am not there… I live in you.
