Story and Photos by: Glenn Harbison

“Don’t forget them, please,” Bill Stodghill said as he closed his opening remarks at the annual Memorial Day Ceremony at Veterans Memorial Park in Blue Ridge.Chairs were filled and several stood at the noonday ceremony Monday, May 25, despite the threat of rain.

Stodghill, commander of the North Georgia Honor Guard, stressed the importance of remembering the men and women who have given their lives so that freedom can be enjoyed in the United States. He also talked of those still Missing in Action and those who suffered as prisoners of war, reminding the audience that their families also suffered.

Dale Burnett, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel and the day’s featured speaker, drove the importance of remembering the ultimate sacrifices home.

“More than 1.1 million Americans have died defending the country and the Constitution. We are here today for them. We do not forget. Nobody can replace these fallen heroes,” Barnett said. He talked of the men and women who continue to lose their lives, urging everyone to let their families know they are not forgotten. 

Barnett then put names with some of the faces being remembered on Memorial Day.

There was Lieutenant Daniel Collins who was killed by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in Iraq in April 2010. 

He was a hometown boy from Collins’ home town. He followed much the same path as Collins, from Boys State, to West Point and graduation in 2008, then into military service. Collins knew him and his parents well, as did everyone in town. The pain reached deep into the very soul of the community.

Barnett told of a 19-year-old private first class from Conyers, Georgia, Diego Fernando Rincon, who was killed in Iraq March 29, 2003. In a letter home to his mother, he had written, “Whether I make it or not is all part of the plan.” He asked her to be proud of what he was doing and have faith in his decision.

Barnett told of Lieutenant Dan Berschinski who was not killed but lost both his legs in Afghanistan August 18, 2009. He underwent extensive rehabilitation and can now walk a few steps. He has gone on to form a veteran owned business that hires disabled veterans.

“A nation that forgets its veterans and their sacrifices has lost its moral compass,” Barnett concluded.