BY PHILLIP PINA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
World War II veteran Edwin Donley stood before a room full of peers at a quiet Veterans Day ceremony Wednesday and shared his memories of war. They were about courage. And they were about horror.
"Freedom, my friends, is not free," Mr. Donley told the nearly 250 gathered at the Main Public Library downtown. Veterans, their families and friends have all made sacrifices to create and protect this nation, he said.
Mr. Donley was the featured speaker at the annual ceremony at the library. Veterans groups presented wreaths, lighted the Flame of Remembrance and pledged their allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. It was one of several local ceremonies held Wednesday in honor of Veterans Day.
People gathered for an all-night vigil in Deer Park. They broke ground for a Veterans Memorial for Butler County in Hamilton. And they gathered around a new one in Northern Kentucky. Throughout the Tristate, they paid their respects to those who risked - and gave - their lives.
For Mr. Donley, it has been 53 years since he returned from fighting in the Pacific during World War II. He said a few details of his service as a Marine sergeant have faded with time.
But plenty of those memories remain: the warmth of dry socks after a night fighting in the rain, and dodging gunfire to rescue a wounded friend, only to watch him die moments later. He himself was injured by a grenade.
"The presence of combat veterans commands a very special respect," said Joseph S. Stern Jr., library board president and World War II veteran. "That's why Veterans Day is so important as a place to pass along some sense of the meaning of such an enormous sacrifice to the next generation."
As the memories of past wars fade, the efforts can still be witnessed in the every-day lives of Americans, he added.
"Enjoy your freedom to the fullest, but don't ever forget the sacrifices made for that freedom," Mr. Donley said.
It was a message repeated throughout the Tristate on Wednesday. In Hamilton, civic leaders gathered at Veterans Park for the groundbreaking of a new memorial. The monument will include 700 names of Butler County residents who served. The memorial is expected to be dedicated on Memorial Day 1999.
In Florence, more than 50 people braved the chilly weather for a 45-minute tribute at the new Boone County Veterans Memorial. Guest speaker H.B. Deatherage, a past president of the Florence Rotary Club and an Army veteran of the Vietnam War, told the crowd, "We can do no less than pause for one small moment to reflect" on the 1 million veterans who didn't return home from war and who sacrificed "the last full measure of devotion."
"And, of course, we should thank the 26 million living veterans who have served their nation so well in war and in peace. We must also remember another very, very important group: the MIAs. They are missing in action, but they are not missing from our hearts,"said Mr. Deatherage, who led the project for the new memorial outside the Florence Government Center.
The walk-through memorial, which includes personalized memorial brick pavers, flagpoles and four benches, is one of the largest granite memorials in Kentucky.
In Deer Park, about 70 people showed up for a candlelight vigil overnight Tuesday and Wednesday morning. Those attending lighted candles and said prayers in the Chamberlain Park shelter house to honor those who had served in the armed forces.
Ron Bluestein, who is not a veteran but has friends and family who are, said he helped organize the vigil out of respect. The vigil began at 6 p.m. on a wet, windy and chilly Tuesday. He and a few others stayed until 6 a.m. the next day.
"Veterans are always trying to rally people together, whether it is for memorials or ballclubs for children," said Mr. Bluestein, of Deer Park. "It seemed to me that we should be rallying around the veterans."
Earnest Winston contributed to this report.
