Veterans, families pay respect to fallen comrades
Hundreds turn out at Military Heritage Alliance to observe Memorial Day
While studying to be a Catholic priest in Rome, Italy, Maj. Andrew Young got to see much of Europe. His tours took him to various military cemeteries where U.S. servicemembers were buried, casualties of two World Wars.
On his first Memorial Day in Europe during a four-year stint in Rome, Young visited the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery and Memorial in Nettuno, Italy. There, 7,858 Americans are buried, including 29 South Dakotans who died in combat in Sicily and Anzio during World War II. Young ventured to guess that most all of them had never been to Europe before the war.
“But they were answering the call to rid the world of a tyrant, Adolf Hitler,” Young said.
“They left their American homeland, never to return.”
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Young, a Mitchell native and 1999 U.S. Naval Academy graduate, reflected on the importance of Memorial Day as the keynote speaker to commemorate America’s fallen servicemembers. The event, which drew hundreds of people, took place at the South Dakota Military Heritage Alliance. The event was also sponsored by the Sioux Falls Area Veterans Council and Americans for Prosperity, which provided a free lunch.
Memorial Day is the traditional start of summer, and the weekend is often marked by family events and food. But the importance of what started as Decoration Day following the Civil War should not be overlooked, Young said.
After serving as a Marine Corps officer in Afghanistan and Iraq, Young left the military and was ordained a priest in 2012. He later rejoined the military, serving as a chaplain in both the Navy and Air Force.
During his trip to the cemetery in Nettuno, Young said he was struck by how few graves were decorated with flowers. During the rest of his time there, he raised money from South Dakotans to put flowers on the graves of South Dakotans on Memorial Day, which isn’t observed in Europe. He said he didn’t want them to be forgotten.
War, he said, has touched veterans who survived, and family members who were left behind. He told the story of one woman in his parish whose older brother had been shot down over the ocean during World War II. His remains were never found.
The event included singing from the American Legion Choir, a 21-gun salute and Taps. Chaplain Donna Puthoff delivered the benediction.
“Let us always remember our fallen comrades,” she said.
Thank you, Chaplain Young, for two reasons. First, for giving yourself to the service of God in a field in which you can be in danger, as well as serve as solace for servicemen and women who need your spiritual advice at times when one may be unsure of seeing the next sunrise.
Secondly, you did what few Americans have done and that is to visit one of our 26 American military cemeteries overseas.
You mentioned that few of the graves at Nettuno (aka Sicily-Rome cemetery) were decorated. That is opposite of what you will find at the Netherlands American Cemetery next to Margraten, NL which is the final resting place of almost 8,300 Fallen Warriors, including two Army nurses.
Today, every grave will have been decorated, for every soldier's grave was immediately 'adopted' by a Dutch family as their own son or daughter. The cemetery's policy is that only one family may 'adopt' one soldier. There has been a waiting list, but not one family has 'given up' their soldier since the temporary cemetery was created in 1944.
For Chaplain Young's parishioner or congregation whose relative is missing, there names on a "Wall Of The Missing" in each cemetery. At the Netherlands cemetery, 1,722 names are carved on that Wall with a majority of them being aviators who were shot down.
In closing, I thank you for your Service to God and Country.