Service urged at Fayetteville ceremony

Governor, others honor fallen soldiers on Memorial Day at national cemetery

FAYETTEVILLE — Gov. Asa Hutchinson asked those attending a Memorial Day observance at the Fayetteville National Cemetery to do what they can to keep their country strong.

Hutchinson, the guest speaker at Monday’s event, alluded to the idea of a soldier in battle picking up a fallen flag, an action symbolic of what America needs from its citizens, he said.

“In our nation today, we have to ask ourselves as civilians, as Americans, are we willing to see a flag that is falling and to reach out and do what is necessary to pick it up,” he said.

America is a world leader, he added.

“We must keep it so to honor those who have given their life so that we might enjoy and appreciate freedom on days like today,” Hutchinson said.

Hutchinson noted that 21 Arkansans have been awarded the Medal of Honor, the highest medal for valor in action against an enemy force. He recalled three of those people in particular, all of whom served during World War I.

“We remember those fall- en soldiers today and we are grateful for their sacrifice,” Hutchinson said. “It is important for us to tell these stories, to say their names, that we may never forget their service and their sacrifice.”

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Fayetteville National Cemetery, which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999 and later added to the Civil War Discovery Trail.

The cemetery remains open for burials thanks to the efforts of the Regional National Cemetery Improvement Corp., which was started 33 years ago with the purpose of buying land to expand the cemetery.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ National Cemetery Administration maintains 135 national cemeteries in the United States and Puerto Rico. Of those, about one-third are closed to burials, and many more are open only for the interment of ashes, said Wesley Stites, a member of the corporation’s board of directors.

The original cemetery has almost tripled in size thanks to the efforts of the corporation and the people of Northwest Arkansas, Stites said.

“Most of our money comes from private donations. Over the past 33 years we’ve donated 30 properties worth nearly a million dollars,” he said.

His plea to the audience Monday wasn’t for more money, but for more people to volunteer their time to the corporation.

“Look around you,” Stites said. “What do you see? You see thousands of lives poured out as service. Give us a little bit of yours. And during this ceremony, please remember those lives that surround you.”

Monday’s ceremony also featured the Singing Men of Arkansas, a group of about 40 men who sang patriotic tunes, including the anthems of each branch of the military. Also as part of the ceremony, several Northwest Arkansas men took the oath of enlistment into one of the military branches.

Eduardo Vinagre of Bentonville was among those in the audience.

Vinagre, 72, came to the United States as a Cuban refugee when he was 16. He ended up being drafted into the military in 1969 during the Vietnam War, though he never saw action in Vietnam, he said. He did, however, spend 26 years with the Navy, ending his career as a captain.

“The refugee became a captain in the United States Navy,” Vinagre said. “And that’s the story of America, right? Of the American Dream. Of the American opportunities — you can call it whatever you want.”

Vinagre wore a hat that paid tribute to the USS Elmer Montgomery, a frigate on which he served for about 30 months in the Mediterranean Sea. He said he never misses a Memorial Day ceremony.

“We need to pause for at least one day,” he said. “It’s not beer and hot dogs day at the pool. It’s a day to pause, to think of the real great people who served and had to give it all for the freedoms that we enjoy.”

His experience as a refugee makes him deeply appreciate the freedom he has here, he said. He noted other immigrants who have made an impact on the U.S. military, including John Shalikashvili, who was born in Poland and ended up serving as chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff for the Department of Defense.

“The military has a long history of adopting citizens who have adopted the United States,” he said.