Fallen soldiers honored Monday

Members of the armed services were honored Monday morning in three Memorial Day services held in Washington. The day began with the raising of the American flag at the U.S. Post Office and the firing of three cannon shots. Ceremonies continued at the Crooked Creek bridge on G38 and concluded at Elm Grove Cemetery later that morning.

A guest speaker was asked to say a few words at the ceremony at the bridge and another speaker was asked to present at Elm Grove Cemetery. Bill Tweeton was the speaker at the bridge and he talked about his service background. Tweeton joined a Navy officers training program while he was enrolled at William Penn University. He trained in subjects such as surface warfare and gunnery.

Tweeton was stationed on the USS Bigalow at one time, a ship that has since been decommissioned. He joined the Navy during the late stages of the Vietnam War.

He said the Navy taught him a number of life skills.

?As an officer, you basically get a master?s degree in management,? he said. ?As a junior officer, you learn people skills and organizational skills, because the warfare skills or the ship-driving skills.?

Tweeton read a poem titled ?The Flag? by Baxter Black, who is a ?cowboy poet.? The poem is about the enduring legacy of the American flag, where it has gone in history and what it represents.

The poem contains the stanza:

?We now stand together, Americans all,

?Either by choice or by birth

?To honor the flag that's flown on the moon

?And changed the face of the earth.?

At the ceremony in Elm Grove Cemetery, Wendel Guy read the names of the veterans who had passed away in the prior year. Gary Duder was the guest speaker at that ceremony. He spoke about how ?freedom is not free.? He said Memorial Day was a time to honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice so that others may live in freedom.

Duder was a member of the Army National Guard?s 134

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Medical Company based in Washington from 1983 to 1993. He served in Operation Desert Storm. His father and grandfather served in the military, and he wanted to continue his family?s tradition of serving in the armed forces. He said he wanted to join a local guard unit to show local support.

Duder is vice president of the American Legion Riders and he is the first vice president of the American Legion Post 29. He said he prefers to keep a low profile.

?I?m not one to be in the limelight,? he said.

Duder said he wanted to talk about a friend he served with named Earl Fillmore. Duder and Fillmore were in basic training together and became close friends. In 2004, Duder found out that Fillmore had died in the line of duty, although he didn?t know how.

He remembers one night he and his wife Barb were watching the movie ?Black Hawk Down,? about the Battle of Mogadishu in Somalia in 1993. Gary said he found the movie too emotional to watch and had to stop it before the film was over. Later, Barb was doing research on Fillmore and learned that he was one of the 18 Americans killed in the Battle of Mogadishu.

Duder said it was too emotional for him to talk about Fillmore on Memorial Day, but he wears a bracelet on his wrist with Fillmore?s name on it to honor his friend.