HONORING FALLEN PATRIOTS
Memorial Day ceremony in Cecil commemorates ‘the ultimate sacrifice’
Endless rows of white tombstones lined up with military precision formed the backdrop Sunday for the Memorial Day program at the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies to recognize all Americans who died in military service.
The service honored “those who made the ultimate sacrifice to preserve this land of hopes and dreams,” said Ronald M. Hestdalen, a Marine veteran who is director at the cemetery in Cecil, Washington County. Over 13,300 veterans have been buried there since the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies opened in 2005. It encompasses 292 acres, and 92 are developed. An estimated 1,300 people attended the service, which featured honor guards, a marching band, a rifle salute, a bagpiper and the playing of taps, all as flags waved in the breeze.
“The numbers are staggering,” keynote speaker Maj. Gen. Lewis G. Irwin, deputy chief of the Army Reserve, said of the total number of Americans killed in battle: 500,000 in the Civil War, 100,000 in World War I, 400,000 in World War II, more than 50,000 in the Korean War, 58,000 in Vietnam “and more in smaller wars, including Afghanistan and Iraq.”
Gen. Irwin served 31 years in the Army, including tours in Afghanistan, Kuwait and Iraq. He is a 1982 graduate of McGuffey High School in Claysville, a 1986 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and he has a doctorate in political science from Yale University. He is currently a professor of public policy and government at Duquesne University and lives in McMurray with his wife, Marcia.
While more than 1 million American soldiers have fought and died, Gen. Irwin chose to single out Erick Foster of Franklin Park.
“He was an Army Ranger and he understood that freedom is not free,” Gen. Irwin said. “He served two tours in Iraq. In August 2007, he was killed by a sniper. He was a leader, and his soldiers came from everywhere to attend his funeral. His family was devastated. The number of dead — each one has a similar story. They are all lamented.”
State Sen. Camera Bartolotta, RMonongahela, spoke to the crowd, noting, “At this moment, my son is at Marine boot camp at Paris
Island. He is 22.”
“Ican’t imagine what it’s likefor the Gold Star families”that have lost sons or daughtersin the military. Shemomentarily teared up asshe said, “God bless you andyour sacrifice. We stand behindyou. We are your family.”
Other elected officials made brief remarks, including U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair, in military uniform, a commander in the Navy Reserve; state Sen. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Jefferson Hills, who served as a prosecutor in the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General Corps; and state Rep. Jason Ortitay, R-South Fayette.
TheCanon-McMillan HighSchool Marching Band played“God Bless America.” BagpiperKay Matthews, a supervisorof benefits at the Departmentof Veteran Affairs,played “Going Home” and“Amazing Grace.”
TheSouth Hills Veterans HonorGuard presented a rifle salute and taps. Sixteen youngmen and women carryingthe flag of the WashingtonCounty Young Marines alsoacted as an honor guard beforethe ceremony.
Also present were Seneca Valley High School Army JROTC; Penn Hills High School Navy JROTC; and Civil Air Patrol Golden Triangle Composite Squadron, 603 United States Air Force Auxiliary.
The Department of Veterans Affairs operates 135 cemeteries, including the one in Cecil, Mr. Hestdalen said. The Army operates two, most famously Arlington National Cemetery.
For information about eligibility for free burial in the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies: www.cem.va.gov/cems/ nchp/ncalleghenies.asp. Linda Wilson Fuoco: lfuoco@post-gazette.com.