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Memorial Day 2010 at the Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial Margraten, 30 May 2010
Am
I my Brother's Keeper ?.... , Am I my Brother's Keeper ?
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A
modest WWII monument in Kerkrade, the Netherlands : 'That we may stay
worthy of our freedom' |
Dear Ken, Harry, John and
Clarence,
tending to your graves is
just a very small gesture, but it is all we can do to show our gratitude and
respect to all of the young U.S. soldiers, like you, who did not want to fail
their buddies and the people in Europe, where we live, as well as many others
around the world.
We are proud and humbled, realizing that we can live our lives the way we do
in a free, democratic and peaceful society.You are our heroes, you who kept
the faith and fought the fight; the glory is yours, but the duty is ours.
Every day when we head for home we pass a small WWII monument with the inscription
“That we may stay worthy of our freedom”. And every day again we
realize that our freedom had a very high price. That we may stay worthy of our
freedom because your heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. Your heroism
was not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve
others at whatever cost.
Yes , our freedom comes with a responsibility, like you have shown to us, not
only a responsibility to ourselves but also a responsibility to our fellow-man.
With humble respect, yes, we want to make your sacrifice matter.
“we (should) not ponder with sad thoughts the passing of our heroes, but rather ponder their legacy – the life they made possible for us by their commitment and pain." (Oliver Wendell Holmes).
Ken, Harry, John and Clarence are :
1st Lt. Kenneth R. Robinson, Girard, Pennsylvania, D-Company, 36th
TK BN, 8th Armored Division.
KIA March 5 1945, Rheinberg, Germany
Plot M, Row 10, Grave 5, Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial Margraten
Pfc.
Harry J. Lindemann, Manhatten Borough, New York, 1276th Engineer Combat
Battalion, B-Company
KIA May 3 1945, Hannover, Germany
Plot B, Row 3, Grave 28, Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial Margraten
1st Lt. John L. Dougherty, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania , 367th Bomber Sq.,
306th Bomber Group (H)
KIA January 11 1944, Raalte, the Netherlands
Plot I, Row 7, Grave 13, Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial Margraten
Pfc.
Clarence H. Leach, Fayette County, West Virginia, D-Company, 36th TK
BN, 8th Armored Division.
MIA March 5 1945, Rheinberg, Germany
Tablets of the Missing, Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial Margraten
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Gravesite
of 1st Lt. Kenneth R. Robinson |
Gravesite
of Pfc. Harry J. Lindemann |
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Gravesite
of 1st Lt. John L. Dougherty |
Tablets
of the Missing Pfc. Clarence H. Leach |
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A
decorated grave at Memorial Day |
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Adopters
placing flowers at the grave of their hero |
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Margraten
ABMC Superintendent M. Yasenchak leading his guests, Dutch Queen Beatrix,
U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki, U.S. Ambassador to
the Netherlands Fay Hartog-Levin and Dutch Minister of Defense Elmert
van Middelkoop to their seats |
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U.S.
and Dutch Flags |
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U.S.
Ambassador Fay Hartog-Levin presenting her Memorial
Day remarks |
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Center:
Queen Beatrix, U.S. Secretary Shinseki and left of the French General
President Obama's Great-Uncle Mr. Charles Paine, who served with the 89th
Infantry Division, 355th Infantry Regiment, K-Company in WWII, listening
to Ambassador Hartog-Levin's Memorial Day remarks |
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