Satsuma remembers fallen warriors in Memorial Day ceremony

SATSUMA, Ala. (WALA) - During a somber ceremony in Satsuma, people paid tribute to the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.

The Satsuma Memorial Day ceremony is an annual event for the city and is held at city hall.

"The fallen give silent witness to the price of liberty," said Guest Speaker, Master Chief Donald K. Kiper, US Navy (Ret.)

"And we honor them today with the deepest respect, this day and everyday."

Fourteen flags honoring the memories of the Satsuma residents killed fighting for our country fly in the wind, their names forever etched in stone.

In recent months, our area has seen its share of tragedy and what it means to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Four of the flags stand in memory of the US Coast Guardsmen killed in a helicopter accident during a training mission earlier this year.

Dale Taylor, Fernando Jorge, Andrew Knight, Thomas Cameron all have their own memorials.

Another flag commemorates Army Staff Sgt. Christopher Brown.

Brown was killed by an IED last month in Afghanistan. He was on his fourth tour of duty.

"They carry the spirit of their families in their heart when they are out there protecting us, and I am so very grateful," said Kiper.

Each person here carries with them the name and memory of a person who fought for freedom. Some made it home.

"Oh yes, my brother, he was in Vietnam and seriously wounded. He is with his family now. Mostly, I think of all those who never got to go home and their families," said Peggy Mason.

Others did not.

Corporal Joseph Whitehead, a 22-year-old Marine, was killed in Afghanistan in 2011. Today, the loss is still too much for his grandfather, Roy Patrick.

"He was a good boy. He did what he wanted to do, not what I wanted him to do... but, I can't bring him back. I am sorry," said Roy Patrick.

A lone trumpet played taps during the placing of the wreath. A symbolic gesture of a promise kept to never forget.

Kiper closed his speech with a call to action, "Let us all pledge to do our very best to carry out their wish. Which must have been to live free and to hold dear those freedoms they died to protect."