Moorestown resident Brooke Van Saun (left to right), Army Reserves Lt. Col. Alan Van Saun, Deputy Mayor Sue Mammarella, Mayor Quinton Law, Councilwoman Nicole Gillespie and Councilman Chris Keating at Memorial Field’s annual ceremony on May 26.
U.S. Marine Randy Pugh emphasized the fallen as guest speaker of Moorestown’s 39th annual Memorial Day ceremony at Memorial Field on May 26.
“It is a high calling to lay down one’s life for their country,” he said. “Who exactly are these individuals who have sacrificed their lives? Statistically, and by a vast margin, they are the very young. It is my desire to not bring any attention to myself, but that the attention be brought to those heroes who did not make it home, and to their families.”
After the Civil War, American communities began holding spring tributes to their war dead on what was then Decoration Day, placing flowers on graves, reciting prayers and honoring the estimated 620,000 who died in that conflict, about 2% of the country’s population at the time, according to the Wounded Warrior Project.
“At any given time, less than 1% percent of Americans serve their country,” Pugh explained. “Those who have made the ultimate sacrifice are a small fraction of that 1% … that has paid the ultimate sacrifice for our country. That does, indeed, make them an elite group.”
Pugh arrived in Vietnam at 18 years old in 1969 and spent his 13-month tour operating from a combat base in Quang Nam Province. He was assigned as a tank crewman with B Company, 1st Tank Battalion, 1st Marine Division Headquarters in Danang. He served as a driver, loader and gunner, and finished his tour as a lance corporal and tank commander.
After an honorable discharge, Pugh served in law enforcement for 40 years, including 37 years with the Moorestown police department.
“It has been said that the second tragedy that can be inflicted upon someone who has given their life for their country is to be forgotten,” Pugh noted. “The same can be said if we forget (their) families. I encourage you to remind the families that you remember their loved one …
“The worst thing you can do,” he added, “is forget and act like it did not happen … Thank that family member, thank that neighbor who you know who lost a family member serving this country.”
The Memorial Day event also featured a presentation of the colors, a 21-gun salute, a wreath presentation by the Girl Scouts, a performance by the Moorestown High School band and opening and closing remarks delivered by Brooke Van Saun and Army Reserves Lt. Col. Alan Van Saun, both of whom coordinate the event.
Memorial Field includes baseball fields dedicated in memory of the following Vietnam veterans who died in the line of duty: Howard Mayer, George S. Yohnnson, Roger A. Ross and W. Phillip Seel Jr.
‘The Bible says God raises up leaders and he raises up countries,” Pugh said, “but it also says, ‘I tear down leaders and I tear down countries,’ so we ought not to take the freedom that we’ve had for 250 years for granted.”
