The Sedona Area Veteran and Community Outreach organization, with the support of the city of Sedona, will conduct Sedona’s Memorial Day Ceremony at the Sedona Military Park located at the Jack Jameson Memorial Sculpture Park on Monday, May 29, at 9 a.m. The park is located at 25 Northview Road.

Members of the Civil Air Patrol Verde Valley Composite Squadron 205 and the Sedona Police Cadets will also participate.

SAVCO member and retired U.S. Army Colonel Al Cornell will be the Master of Ceremonies with SAVCO Vice President Mark Cary serving as the guest speaker. Tradition will be honored with the presence of bugler Capt. Dean Cathcart.

Sedona residents Tom and Shondra Jepperson will perform, and there will be a special guest appearance by Nashville recording artist Samantha Cary, who will perform the national anthem. A large shade tent and seating from Verde Events will be provided as well as wreaths from.

SAVCO invites all citizens of Sedona to join them in acts of gratitude and service that lift up all veterans, express pride in country and community and support future generations.

Contact SAVCO President Jack Ross at savco89a@gmail.com for more information about the organization.

Elks Barbecue

Come join the Sedona Elks, 110 Airport Road, for a community barbecue on Monday, May 29 from 1 to 4 p.m. to celebrate Memorial Day.

Live music is included by Javelina Highway featuring Bert Campbell, Dale Caddell and Joey Cruz, all musicians from the popular local group Toucan Eddie. Come dance to your favorite songs.

Cost of the BBQ is $20 and includes hamburgers, hot dogs, brats, potato salad, cole slaw, baked beans and dessert.

This is a fantastic way to celebrate Memorial Day in Sedona, while supporting the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the United States of America and all of its youth, veteran, and community service programs.

Any questions, please call the Lodge at (928) 282-7571.

Mark Cary’s Memorial Day keynote speech

People sometimes ask, why do we have three holidays dedicated to the military? Armed Forces Day, Veterans Day and Memorial Day. Here is your answer, Armed Forces Day is for those who are wearing the uniform of our country, Veterans Day is for those who have worn the uniform in the past, and Memorial Day is to honor those who will never wear the uniform again. Today is for those men and women, and that is why we are here today, and we thank you.

There is a story that goes back to September 1787 following the Constitutional Convention. Benjamin Franklin walked out of the convention hall in Philadelphia and was asked by a passerby, “so what did you give us, a republic or a monarchy?”

To which Franklin famously responded, “A republic, if you can keep it.”

*IF you can keep it.

What Franklin meant at the time was that it is the responsibility of each citizen to be engaged in the workings of our government, to remain aware of what it does in our name, to promote compromise, and to diligently defend the values on which our nation was founded.

But there is another meaning, one which throughout our history has required much more than what Franklin spoke about. The defense of the nation, the defense of our values, and the defense of the future of our republic has many times depended on the ultimate sacrifice of our men and women. These Americans answered the call when the nation and the world were in distress, and at times when our very existence was in peril.

It is said that America is the first nation founded on an idea. Not a bloodline, not an edict, but on freedom and inalienable rights guaranteed by our creator.

These values are ultimately protected by soldiers.

There is a poem I want to share attributed to Charles M Province in 1970.

“It is the Soldier”
It is the Soldier, not the minister, who has given us freedom of religion.
It is the Soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the Soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the Soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us freedom to protest.
It is the Soldier, not the lawyer, who has given us the right to a fair trial.
It is the Soldier, not the politician, who has given us the right to vote.
It is the Soldier who salutes the flag,
Who serves beneath the flag,
And whose coffin is draped by the flag,
Who allows the protester to burn the flag.

Since 1775, over 1 million American soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen have died on battlefields around the world in the service of our country.

These are the men and women who have kept and continue to keep our republic.

As Arizonans we can be very proud of over 3,000 of our fellow citizens who have made this sacrifice.

These are men and women like Frank Luke, Ira Hayes and Lori Piestewa.

Frank Luke was a World War Ifighter pilot, born in the Arizona Territory in 1897. His nickname was the “Arizona Balloon Buster” because out of his 18 aerial victories, 14 were German observation balloons. Now some might think, “how hard can it be to shoot down a balloon?” I think some of us even asked that question a few months ago.

But it was one of the most dangerous missions of the war because the balloons were heavily defended by ground anti-aircraft batteries. Frank Luke, a brash 21-year-old would take on these balloons with his partner aircraft. One pilot would draw enemy fire while the other attacked the balloon. It was in one of these attacks that Luke was shot down and lost his life. He would become the first airman to be awarded the medal of honor.

Eddie Rickenbacker the leading American ace of WWI and one of the most famous military pilots in our history stated that Frank Luke was the finest fighter pilot of the entire war. When you drive south between Arizona State Route [Loop] 101 and Lopp 303 in Glendale you will pass Luke Air Force Base, named after this hero.

Ira Hamilton Hayes was a Native American and proud member of the Gila River Indian Community. Born in 1923 in Sacaton, Arizona, he joined the Marine Corps after Pearl Harbor. In 1945, Hayes and his unit fought their way to the top of Mt Suribachi on the Japanese Island of Iwo Jima. Iwo Jima was one of the bloodiest battles of WW2.

The island was defended by 20,000 Japanese soldiers and when it concluded, only 216 remained alive. Hayes was one of the six flag raisers captured in the iconic photograph by Joe Rosenthal, and his likeness stands at the famous Iwo Jima Memorial in Arlington, Virginia.

Ira Hayes never recovered from what he witnessed in the war. He never came to terms with his celebrity status, the war bond tours, the movies and the public appearances. He was overcome with survivors’ guilt, and in 1955 alcohol and depression finally took his life. Ira Hayes wasn’t killed in combat, but he was a casualty of WW2. He is a reminder that the scars of battle sometime never heal.

Lori Piestewa was another Native American from the Hopi tribe. She was a third-generation American soldier. Her grandfather fought in Europe and her father in Vietnam. In March 2003 her convoy came under attack near Nasiriyah, Iraq. She drove her Humvee at high speed to evade enemy fire until an rocket-propelled grenade hit and disabled the vehicle. She and two other soldiers were severely wounded and captured. Piestewa died shortly after in an Iraqi hospital.

Jessica Lynch, who gained some measure of fame after her rescue, has maintained that Piestewa was the true hero of that day and that her actions no doubt saved her and another soldiers life. Among other tributes, the state of Arizona renamed a peak in the Phoenix Mountains in her honor.

I mentioned earlier that we are the only nation founded on an idea. But we all know that America is not perfect. Often, especially these days it is easy to become cynical and angry or frustrated that we have not always lived up to our founding values.

But I will offer that one of the most important things that we can take pride in as Americans is that we DO evolve, and we DO learn from our mistakes and although it can take time, we DO still strive to become, as our Constitution States “A more perfect Union”

Not a perfect Union, because that is an impossibility. But a more perfect Union is a goal, and it is a goal worth fighting for and sometimes worth dying for.

To me, nowhere is this more evident than in the history of three specific military units. The Nisei Regiment, the Navajo Code Talkers and the Tuskegee Airmen of WW2.

The Nisei Regiment was made up of Japanese Americans who were either interned themselves, or had family interned in camps all across the American West. Yet their heroism in Europe made them the most decorated American unit of the Second World War; 800 of these heroes died in combat.

Our own Navajo Code Talkers, living in poverty, suffering years of broken promises by their government, nevertheless became a critical component of our victory in the Pacific. They are and should always be revered for their heroism and patriotism. If you visit the Navajo Nation reminders of their service and the esteem in which they are held are ever present. 13 of them died in the war and only three are still with us.

Finally, the Tuskegee Airmen. This group of segregated African American pilots were selected in a special program to undergo fighter pilot training and fly combat missions in Europe. Despite racism in the War Department and often times a lack of support from their own chain of command, over 1000 pilots would eventually complete this program.

While African-Americans were still denied basic rights back home, the Tuskegee Airmen, often under the command of white officers, were denied entrance to the Officers Club, and forced to eat in segregated barracks. Nevertheless, they racked up one of the most impressive combat records of any American or allied aviation unit.

Eighty-four airmen Lost their lives, and 32 became prisoners of war. Their achievements helped influence the desegregation of the armed forces in 1948.

I bring these three units up because they were American warriors on the battlefield but also a reminder of how far we have come as a nation. And that we are still a country worth defending so that we can progress even further.

I will conclude with this thought. Memorial Day is one day out of the year when we are called to reflect on those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. As we go about the rest of our day today, and in the days ahead, as you lay down to go to bed at night, I ask you to ask yourself this question,

Was I an American that was worth dying for today.

Thank you.

God bless our troops and God bless the United States of America.