Dedication Of Veterans Memorial Helps
Us Recall Those Uniforms In The Attic
If there was ever a perfect day in St. Charles, at least from the standpoint of the weather, it was November 11, 2005 on the occasion of the dedication of the new Veterans Memorial. It was a mild Fall Day, the last of an extended Indian Summer. The skies were blue and the sun was shining on this Veterans Day.
Over two-hundred and fifty people came to Bishop’s Landing on the riverfront to be part of the celebration. Most were Veterans and their families. Some wore the well cared for uniforms of their prior service, others wore the caps and jackets of current memberships in Veterans organizations. Others members of the community came to show their respect or to remember a loved one who had served.
The crowd gathered in a circle around the new monument. It is a simple black marble monolith, pentagonal in shape. It rises approximately ten feet and is topped by a majestic eagle in flight. On each of its sides there is a round bronze plaque, each bearing the seal of a different branch of military service. From its five corners flows water, down into a shallow semispherical pool. The constant trickle of that water provided its own accompaniment to the stirring martial music of the Municipal Band.
First Ward resident Tom Kuypers, who chaired the Mayor’s Veterans Memorial Committee, served admirably as master of ceremonies for the dedication. The presentation of the massed colors, the raising of the flag, laying of the wreath and playing of taps came off with military precision.
On hand to honor our Veterans were Congressman Todd Aiken, Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder, Mayor Patti York, Councilman Bob Kneemiller (whose brother serves as an Army Chaplain and was on hand to offer the opening and closing prayers) and several other of my fellow Councilmen. Councilman Mark Brown was busy at a Veterans celebration across town. He was asked to help officiate at the annual Lake St. Charles Retirement Communities annual salute to Veterans, which drew its own crowd of over two-hundred and other officials including State Senator Chuck Gross.
As President of the City Council, I was asked to make a few appropriate remarks myself. I wanted to share those remarks with readers and they are reproduced as I gave them below.
When I was very young and visiting my grandparents in Pennsylvania, my brother and I found a wonderful trunk in the attic. Inside were some neatly folded uniforms. They were ones my father and uncle had worn when they served during the Second World War. In the same trunk were other things of interest to any boy. There were real swords, bayonets, insignia of rank and a Luger pistol an enemy officer had once carried on a distant field of battle.
For a youngster in the early ‘60s it was like finding a pirate’s chest filled with treasure. Here were the things of real Army men...not just the toys I played with in the backyard or the plastic armies I commanded on our basement floor.
There were also old papers and photos. With so much to discover, I didn’t pay much attention to the photos at the time. That would come later.
Over the years, when I was old enough to both appreciate and handle them, the treasures of that attic were handed down to me. I have the swords, my brother the Luger pistol. The uniforms, the regalia, the trappings of that war found a new home and a new attic.
Looking back, I think exploring that old trunk sparked my love of history and I’ve tried to pass along that appreciation to my children. I also passed along to them the stories, the verbal history if you will, of the service of their grandfather and great uncle. I wanted them to learn that the true treasure I found that day was never in that dusty trunk. It was in the stories and experiences my father and uncle shared with us.
My uncle served with General George Patton and fought in the Battle of the Bulge. Among his keepsakes were the old photos, which had escaped the attention of a young boy so many years before. As an adult, I marvel at the pictures he took of General Patton, ivory handled pistols and all.
There were also pictures of a concentration camp they helped to liberate. They are bleak haunting photos. Ones that help remind us why we send America’s sons and daughters off to war.
For the sacrifice of so many generations, for those who left homes and loved ones behind, to forsake their own careers and fortunes, to endure hardships and suffering, many unto death...too many unto death...what monument is fitting?
Today, we are here to dedicate one monument among many. You can find them in every caring community...lasting tributes to those who served our nation. Some are large and some are small. Some of brick and some of stone. Some with heroic statues and some dressed in simple black.
The citizens of St. Charles can be proud of their new Veterans Memorial. They can be proud of the work of this committee, the architect and builders who brought it all together. We have a wonderful Veterans Memorial, in perhaps the most perfect spot anyone could imagine...the mighty Missouri River itself marching in review, the tall cottonwoods of its banks standing silent post.
But in dedicating this monument today, we should remember that it is not the marble which makes this a special place. It is not the fine sculpture or design that makes it a place of reflection. It is not the words cast in bronze or carved in stone that compel us to remember.
What makes this a special place, a place of reflection and of remembrance is in our hearts. It is our being here today, and on every Veterans Day, that makes this a special place of great solemnity, of respect...of honor.
It is by our presence and our words, that all the uniforms in all the attics are remembered...not for what they are, but for those who wore them.
Thank you.
