LaSalle Parish residents gathered on Memorial Day weekend to take time to honor the memory of those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for the nation’s freedom.
Three separate events took place May 24 and 25 in the parish, where residents attended to pause from their weekend activities to remember those who died in wars.
The first Memorial Day program was held at the Centennial Cultural Center in Olla on Sunday, May 24, where the Scouting America Troop 14 and the LaSalle Parish Veterans Honor Guard presented a variety of patriotic services, including all flag presentations, poems, and a 21-Gun Salute and the playing of Taps.
Also at Olla, Tullos First Baptist Pastor Scott Smith served as Master of Ceremonies and sang the National Anthem and special guest speaker, Jena Attorney Steve Kendrick, delivered the annual Memorial Day address. Part of his speech included: “Today we especially remember the sons of LaSalle Parish who did not come home from war. We remember Corporal Jackie Wayne Berry, United States Army, born October 31, 1946, in Olla, Louisiana, who was killed in the Republic of Vietnam on February 10, 1968, at just 21 years old.
Other sons of LaSalle Parish lost in Vietnam were Edward Coe Beckwith, Michael Glen Price and Joseph Harold Graham. Their names appear on the Vietnam casualty rolls as a permanent record that LaSalle Parish sent its own into harm’s way, and that some never returned.
We also remember Sergeant James M. Leavins, United States Army, listed on Louisiana’s Roll of Honor for the Korean War, a soldier from LaSalle Parish who was killed in action on February 12, 1951. His name reminds us that long before Vietnam, this parish had already paid in blood for the freedoms we enjoy. These are not just names on a list. They were sons and brothers, classmates and friends. They grew up on the same roads we drive, worshiped in the same churches, fished the same creeks, and walked the same halls our children walk today. When their country called, they left LaSalle Parish and did not come back, so that we could continue to live in freedom here at home.
Our purpose today is to honor, with dignity and respect, the men and women who have died protecting us. It is important that we reflect on them not in the abstract, but to remember that they were just like us. They loved, they felt anger, they felt fear, and just like us they wanted to live. Yet when called upon to choose between living out their lives and sacrificing their lives to protect their families, their homes, their friends, their country, they chose to place their lives in jeopardy and give those lives up so that we could continue to live in a free country. There is a heavy cost involved in protecting and maintaining the freedoms we often take for granted. This nation has shouldered those costs for generations, and LaSalle Parish has borne its share of that burden.”
Also at the Olla ceremony, residents took time to honor one of their own, 1987 LaSalle High School graduate Jerry Roberts. Roberts’ son, Graham Roberts, spoke of his father’s time leading up to his service in the military, his time in the military and the legacy he left behind after he left the military.
Jerry Roberts graduated from LaSalle High School in 1987 and joined the U.S. Army where he served for five years and attaining the rank of Sgt. E5. He passed away in 2006 at the age of 37.
“He decided that the Army would be a good place to get his education and provide for his young family,” his son Graham said. “They moved to several places but one of his biggest stops was in Germany. That’s where Karianna (his daughter) came into the picture and many friends.”
“When dad enlisted in 1987, it was a fairly peaceful time,” he continued. “Prior to the Gulf War, the last mobilization we’d had before then was Vietnam. So, you’re looking at a young man who was probably thinking he was going to go do his four years, earn the GI bill and get his education and then move on, and then in 1990 he gets called to war.”
“He served in Operation Desert Shield; it was the largest mobilization since Vietnam. Dad was a letter writer and he’d write us letters,” Graham said and actually read some of the letters he’d written to him and his sister. “Those were letters he was writing to his kids that were lighthearted, fun and there was protection in that, saying ‘hey, daddy’s okay, I’m coming home soon.’ And then you found the letters he’d written to mom and they were more difficult. I remember him telling me years later that he wasn’t even close to the front – that he was in the back and he wasn’t that worried. But I found out later in reading other letters, that he was a lot closer than what he ever actually led us to believe. He said, ‘I just can’t see re-enlisting. I think one chance of giving my life for my country is enough. I’m so close to the front that it isn’t funny. To think that my kids may grow up daddy-less, I just can’t see it.’ I tell you that to tell you I think it’s important to understand what our service people go through.”
“Our dad was fortunate to come home but we celebrate this holiday for the ones that didn’t,” he concluded. “So, any time you get a chance to tell a veteran thank you, make sure you take that opportunity.”
Jena Program
On Monday, May 25, Memorial Day, a large crowd gathered on the lawn of the LaSalle Parish Courthouse for the annual Memorial Day program sponsored by the Whatley-Flaherty VFW Post 5002 of Jena.
Once again, the Veterans Honor Guard was centerstage, conducting all of the flag ceremonies, the Soldier’s Cross-Tribute to Fallen Comrades and the 21-Gun Salute with Taps.
Master of Ceremony and veteran Rodney Russell led the program with prayers offered by veteran Rev. Carl Gulde. Members of Troop 14 led in the Pledge of Allegiance with Jami Gulde Munson singing the National Anthem.
Walter E. Dorroh, Jr. was the featured speaker for the event, where he shared a timely and moving tribute to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. Part of his speech included: “Our purpose for today is to with dignity and respect honor the men and women who have died protecting us. I’m reminded of the verse in America the Beautiful that goes something like this: ‘Oh beautiful for heroes proved in liberating strife, who more than self their country loved and mercy more than life.’ That is such an appropriate way in which we can remember and honor those for whom this date was created. The men and women that we honor and for whom we give sacred memory today are the ones who loved their country and their countrymen more than themselves and more than their lives. We couldn’t and wouldn’t be here if it were not for them.
It is important that we reflect on them not in the abstract, but keep in mind that they were just like us. They loved, they felt anger, they felt fear, and just like us they wanted to live. However, when called upon to choose between living out their lives and sacrificing their lives to protect their families, their homes, their friends, their country, and, to be honest, complete strangers with whom the only thing they had in common was living in America, they chose to place their lives in jeopardy and give those lives up so that we could continue to live in a free country, the greatest country in the history of mankind.
It is indeed our duty to recall the sacrifices and maintain alive the memories of those who made that ultimate sacrifice. It is important that we reflect on the lives they gave up and left behind. They came from every corner of this country and, in some cases, other countries as well. Together they defended, protected, and advanced freedom.
Not to be trite or state that which is self-evident, but there is indeed a heavy cost involved in protecting and maintaining the freedoms we take for granted. This country has shouldered those costs, and for many generations we have been blessed to have those who regarded it as a privilege and honor to protect those freedoms.
It is important that we never forget the sacrifices of those who have gone before us and that we honor them by being prepared ourselves to make the sacrifices if called upon. After all, there is no greater love that can be expressed than for one to give up his life for his friend, for his country, and for a total stranger whose only commonality is that we live in the greatest country ever.”
Before the program in Jena was concluded, Russell read all the names engraved on the LaSalle Parish Memorial Monument, which lists all parish residents who died while serving their nation in war.
Desert Shield and Desert Storm War Veteran retired SFC US Army John S. Grimm was given the honor of laying the Memorial Wreath in front of the monument.
Walmart Ceremony
Shortly after the Jena program, a ceremony was held at the Jena Walmart where members of Scouting America Troop 14 conducted a program to remember those who died in war serving and protecting the United States.
Held outside in front of the store with many associates attending, the ceremony featured the presentation of the American Flag, the explanation of the folds, a poem and other patriotic services.
