Marietta Remembers Fallen Service Members on Memorial Day

MARIETTA — An air of solemn reverence and rays of sunshine washed over the Marietta Memorial Day ceremony Monday, as powerful storms in the lead-up to the event gave way to clear weather by noon.

That meant hundreds were able to pay tribute to fallen U.S. Armed Forces members at the annual Memorial Day Service at Marietta National Cemetery, put on by the National Memorial Day Association of Georgia.

This was the group’s 79th ceremony on the national holiday honoring those who gave their lives fighting for the U.S.

From local elected and appointed officials to families and friends of military members fallen and still standing, active and retired, attendees had the opportunity to remember those who died in service of their country through various traditions and speeches.

The Marietta High School Air Force JROTC presented the colors and assisted with the wreath-laying ceremony, conducted by organizations including the Cobb County Police and Fire departments, the Marietta Police Department and the Cobb Sheriff’s Office.

“Our sacrifices are minimal compared to those who made the ultimate sacrifice,” Cobb District 3 Commissioner JoAnn Birrell told the MDJ just before the ceremony began.

She offered reflections on Memorial Day during the service, noting her father, James Kannan Jr., was a World War II veteran and lieutenant colonel in the North Carolina National Guard.

“My daddy was my hero and always will be,” Birrell said. “The greatest generation, may he rest in peace.”

She added that it was not until after the July 16, 2015, shootings at two military installations in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which left four U.S. Marines and a U.S. Navy sailor dead, that the true meaning of Memorial Day came into focus for Birrell.

Birrell discussed Lance Cpl. Squire “Skip” Wells, a Cobb native who was one of the Marines killed in the shooting. At 21 years old, he was the youngest service member killed in the attack.

A 2012 graduate of Sprayberry High School, Wells attended Georgia Southern before deciding to enlist in the Marine Corps in 2014.

Birrell called Wells “a hometown hero,” adding that “it was only fitting we renamed Bells Ferry Park for him in 2016,” in addition to naming the Sandy Plains post office for Wells.

“The community came together and waved our flags when his body was escorted back here,” Birrell said, and she was right there, alongside Marietta Mayor Steve “Thunder” Tumlin, waving a flag for Wells.

“When reflecting on Memorial Day, two words come to my mind: ‘Remember’ and ‘honor,’” Birrell said. “We must never forget those brave men and women ... that made the ultimate sacrifice. Their love of our great nation and the price they paid are why we enjoy our freedoms today.”

Both Tumlin and retired Col. Carl “Skip” Bell referenced John 15:13 — “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” — in remarks during the ceremony.

Bell, a decorated veteran who served as a troop commander and helicopter pilot during two respective tours of duty in Vietnam, offered a tribute to his friend, 2nd Lt. Earle John Bemis, a Marietta native and Bell’s classmate at North Georgia College before the men deployed to Vietnam.

Bemis was killed during a firefight in Pleiku Province, South Vietnam on June 1, 1969, after a helicopter covering the fighting was shot down.

“Earle left cover and ran to the helicopter to move the wounded crew out to safety,” Bell said. “He successfully extracted two people, but was shot and killed in the process. He was 23 years old.”

Bell was emotional in recounting how Bemis was awarded the Silver Star and Purple Heart for his actions that ultimately cost him his life.

“Earle was a true hero in every sense of the word,” Bell said.

Bell also referenced Isaiah 6:8 to describe Bemis’ character: “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’

Bemis is buried in the southeast portion of Marietta National Cemetery, Bell noted, not far from his father Earle Albert Bemis Jr., a World War II veteran.

To close his tribute to Bemis and all other service members who died fighting for their country, Bell shared the lyrics of the song “More Than a Name on a Wall” by the Statler Brothers.

“It’s a tough one to get through for those of us that have put people in body bags and have friends that didn’t come back with us,” Bell said.

The song recounts a mother visiting a military tribute wall in which her son’s name is etched.

Approaching the wall, flowers in hand and tears in her eyes, the woman looked upward and began to speak, with the song’s narrator telling what he saw, Bell explained through the lyrics as he again became emotional.

“And she said, ‘Lord my boy was special, and he meant so much to me and, oh, I’d love to see him but I know it just can’t be,’” Bell read. “’So I thank you for my memories and the moments to recall, but Lord could you tell him, he’s more than a name on a wall. Lord could you tell him, he’s more than a name on a wall.”