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Area pays respect to veterans on Memorial Day
Photo Guiseppe Barranco/The Port Arthur News
During an emotional Memorial Day ceremony, Scottie Berg and Travis Berg, parents of fallen U.S. Army Specialist Ryan Berg hold tight to memorial plaques given to them by the Moody family. The event was conducted at the Veterans Memorial Park.
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The Port Arthur News, Tuesday, May 29, 2007
A Memorial Day Special Tribute to Ryan Berg
Despite the weather, Memorial Day was still a day of celebration for two unique families who came together to honor the memory of a local hero. Two Memorial Day ceremonies were held Monday, one at the Golden Triangle Veterans Memorial Park in Port Arthur and the other at Oak Bluff Memorial Park in Port Neches.
The highlight of the ceremony in Port Arthur was a presentation of a “Sacrifice for Freedom” memorial through efforts of the Peggy Moody and her family, to the family of 19-year-old Spc. Ryan Russell Berg of Sabine Pass, who died earlier this year while serving in the U.S. Army in Iraq.
Memorial artist/designer Michael Letney of Tulsa, Okla. was on hand at the ceremony to present an inaugural award for his 501C3 organization that “supports fallen heroes.”
He said “Sacrifice for Freedom” honors those who paid the ultimate sacrifice so we can live in the freedom in this country.
“America will be there for them because they were there for us first,” Letney said.
Letney added his motivation for creating the monument, which is small enough to sit on a table or a mantle, was “for someone to stand in the gap for these heroes.”
His goal is to meet with over 350 families of fallen soldiers to fill a gap the government or individuals are not covering. The organization is also seeking sponsors to send the memorials to the homes at no charge.
For the keynote speech, Army Chaplain George Blake of Texas Veterans Service Group, said he became a chaplain because every veteran deserved a military honor.
Blake further told the audience free men and women always rise to the cause and the U.S. military are liberators, not occupiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“The cry of the peace movement is no different than it was in the Vietnam War; it’s hollow and treacherous,” Blake said. “Jane Fonda hasn’t learned anything. It’s a message of defeat and they label our armed forces as terrorists themselves.”
He also quoted from Romans 1:18-23, Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, and various poems during his speech. Blake concluded by saying the audience did not come to mourn, but to celebrate their sacrifices.
Coast Guard Petty Officer Kelley Moore thought the ceremony was very good and was headed for one more ceremony in Bridge City.
Moore is in the Coast Guard Reserves and was called into active duty to serve in port security. Before being called into active duty, he worked at the Groves Fire Department and Police Department.
The ceremony at Oak Bluff has been observed for decades. Radio and television personality John Stevens was the keynote speaker and said he was there to show his gratitude to the veterans and to support the military.
Stevens told how one brother joined the Army during World War II and another one joined the Navy where he was aboard the USS Nevada when it was attacked at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Another brother served in the Korean Conflict at the Chosin Reservoir and became a prisoner of war. His remains were never returned to the U.S. because his grave couldn’t be located.
“We owe all of them a debt of gratitude and an acknowledgment of the blessings we enjoy,” Stevens said.
Maurice D. Toups of Port Neches served in the Navy during World War II in the Pacific Theater and is a member of VFW Post 4820.
“I believe in supporting the veterans who died. For those who served,” Toups said.
Claude R. Bailey of Port Neches is a U.S. Army veteran and attends the ceremony every year to honor the veterans. “I have a couple of good friends out here (veterans who are buried in the cemetery).”
To him, the ceremony gets better every year, though he wished more younger people would attend.
Barbara Jowers of Vinton, La. is engaged to Army veteran Ernest Sonnier of Port Arthur and said she enjoy the ceremony and wished to remain loyal to her country. However, she too lamented that not many younger people were in attendance.
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