Veterans share importance of giving your life for the freedom of others

HUNTINGTON, WV (WOWK) – The question ‘What does it mean to put your life on the line for others?’ is something that generations of veterans have had to answer. For many veterans, especially those who lose friends or family members, Memorial Day is about so much more than 24 hours of recognition.

“All those that passed away in combat, men and women, and we’re honoring them today. If everything we enjoy in life – religious beliefs, our education, all that – it’s due to their sacrifice. We wouldn’t be able to enjoy anything if it weren’t for our veterans,” Marine Corps veteran and past commandant of the Hershel “Woody” Williams detachment Rich Shank said. “It takes a special person to sign off on that, and we thank every one of them. Every time you see a veteran, thank them.”

Paul Davis, a U.S. Air Force veteran, is an 80-year-old who comes from a long generation of veterans. However, his family also knows the personal feeling of losing someone at war.

“Through my history, three of my great grandfathers was in the battle of Point Pleasant,” Davis said. “My great uncle was killed at the battle of Winchester in a gray uniform… None of us have been afraid to serve, and it’s just a thing that my family was proud of.”

During Huntington’s Memorial Day Ceremony at the Memorial Arch on Monday, Davis was one of many who lifted up and carried a memorial wreath to the arch. To him, that has a lot of personal meaning.

“It means you got to remember,” Davis said. “Too many times, see I help set up the honor guard down at Post 93. I’ve been to a lot of military funerals, and a lot of them are friends of mine. It’s just hard to remember.”

Other veterans relate to this experience of having loved and lost too many people.

Fred Buchanan, the Chairman of the Veterans Committee for Civic Improvement and part of American Legion Post 16, said, “They went before us. They laid the groundwork for us to be Americans and to serve those of us who are fortunate enough to serve our country and come home.”

Dan Ferguson, the chairman of the Hershel “Woody” Williams Gold Star Families Memorial Project, served in Vietnam with the Coast Guard. He’s also processed that grief.

“I had some friends back in Vietnam that went to Vietnam and didn’t come back. I did,” Ferguson said. “There was a few friends, and it’s touching. You never forget. I remember them, I remember the times we had together before they had to leave for the war.”

That experience affects everyone a little differently, but it also unifies civilians and veterans on days like Memorial Day to remind everyone that freedom is earned not given.

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