thedrifter
05-29-07, 06:22 AM
`Patriotic to the core'
Monday, May 28, 2007
By Stephanie Esters
se@kalamazoogazette.com 388-8554
Several strangers walked up to 30-year-old Preston Briggs, a former U.S. Marines sergeant at the Memorial Day celebration at Fort Custer National Cemetery on Sunday, shaking his hand, thanking him for his military service, blessing him.
But it was the exchange with one of the strangers, an older woman, that caused tears to pool in Briggs' hazel-colored eyes and long seconds to pass before he could share that encounter.
``What do you say when a lady walks up to you and says her grandson died (in Iraq)?'' said Briggs, hugging his 5-year-old son, Logan. ``She'll never have great-grandchildren. What do you do? What do you say? Do you tell her it's worth it?''
Briggs called the current U.S. military conflict ``a necessary evil,'' but said more effort needs to be put into bringing American troops home. Along with Logan, Briggs attended the ceremony with his girlfriend, Kira DeHaan, and his 7-year-old daughter, Alley.
Briggs said he feels guilty being here in this country -- ``every day when you turn the news on'' -- while others are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, but he and his girlfriend don't discuss his re-enlisting.
``Best thing we can do here is just support our troops and get them out, as soon as possible,'' Briggs said. ``We have the finest fighting system in the world. All we want to do is get in there, get the bad guys out and get them back home.''
That was the sentiment shared by Ed Klepper, 73, a U.S. Navy veteran who served during the Korean War. Klepper, a Kalamazoo resident who attended the event with his wife, Betty, agreed that it was time to bring the troops back home.
Klepper said he is proud of Memorial Day observances like the one at Fort Custer, but ``I think we've been there (in Iraq) long enough.''
The day's guest speaker was Major Gen. Thomas G. Cutler, adjutant general for Michigan National Guard and a command pilot, who talked about how generations of Americans had answered the call to protect freedom; it is still a call being answered today, manifesting itself in the U.S. presence in Iraq and Afghanistan.
``They are patriotic to the core -- they all received a special mission their country has entrusted to them,'' Cutler said of those active U.S. troops. ``Our soldiers... are personification of our American values. They are also fully aware of the specific risks they have been asked to make.
``Freedom cannot be bestowed, it must be achieved,'' he added. ``(That will happen) only if Americans are willing to answer the call.''
Sunday was also a day families and friends visited the graves of their loved ones, placing flowers or flags, sharing memories, shedding tears.
It's been almost 24 years since Kalamazoo resident Siuleo ``Leo'' Lealofi, a U.S. Marine, died in an accident at work, but his family regularly visits his grave, as they did Sunday.
``We were just remembering and saying that he would be here, because he was a proud veteran,'' one of his two daughters, Deb Gardiner said, standing at his headstone, ``a proud veteran.''
Unfortunately, it's during wartime, that the average American is reminded of the freedoms that they have, Lealofi's widow, Sandra, herself a veteran, noted.
``I think it takes a war to bring (to people's knowledge that we have freedom) because other people worked to make it that way,'' Sandra Lealofi said. ``We just take it for granted.''
Ellie
Monday, May 28, 2007
By Stephanie Esters
se@kalamazoogazette.com 388-8554
Several strangers walked up to 30-year-old Preston Briggs, a former U.S. Marines sergeant at the Memorial Day celebration at Fort Custer National Cemetery on Sunday, shaking his hand, thanking him for his military service, blessing him.
But it was the exchange with one of the strangers, an older woman, that caused tears to pool in Briggs' hazel-colored eyes and long seconds to pass before he could share that encounter.
``What do you say when a lady walks up to you and says her grandson died (in Iraq)?'' said Briggs, hugging his 5-year-old son, Logan. ``She'll never have great-grandchildren. What do you do? What do you say? Do you tell her it's worth it?''
Briggs called the current U.S. military conflict ``a necessary evil,'' but said more effort needs to be put into bringing American troops home. Along with Logan, Briggs attended the ceremony with his girlfriend, Kira DeHaan, and his 7-year-old daughter, Alley.
Briggs said he feels guilty being here in this country -- ``every day when you turn the news on'' -- while others are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, but he and his girlfriend don't discuss his re-enlisting.
``Best thing we can do here is just support our troops and get them out, as soon as possible,'' Briggs said. ``We have the finest fighting system in the world. All we want to do is get in there, get the bad guys out and get them back home.''
That was the sentiment shared by Ed Klepper, 73, a U.S. Navy veteran who served during the Korean War. Klepper, a Kalamazoo resident who attended the event with his wife, Betty, agreed that it was time to bring the troops back home.
Klepper said he is proud of Memorial Day observances like the one at Fort Custer, but ``I think we've been there (in Iraq) long enough.''
The day's guest speaker was Major Gen. Thomas G. Cutler, adjutant general for Michigan National Guard and a command pilot, who talked about how generations of Americans had answered the call to protect freedom; it is still a call being answered today, manifesting itself in the U.S. presence in Iraq and Afghanistan.
``They are patriotic to the core -- they all received a special mission their country has entrusted to them,'' Cutler said of those active U.S. troops. ``Our soldiers... are personification of our American values. They are also fully aware of the specific risks they have been asked to make.
``Freedom cannot be bestowed, it must be achieved,'' he added. ``(That will happen) only if Americans are willing to answer the call.''
Sunday was also a day families and friends visited the graves of their loved ones, placing flowers or flags, sharing memories, shedding tears.
It's been almost 24 years since Kalamazoo resident Siuleo ``Leo'' Lealofi, a U.S. Marine, died in an accident at work, but his family regularly visits his grave, as they did Sunday.
``We were just remembering and saying that he would be here, because he was a proud veteran,'' one of his two daughters, Deb Gardiner said, standing at his headstone, ``a proud veteran.''
Unfortunately, it's during wartime, that the average American is reminded of the freedoms that they have, Lealofi's widow, Sandra, herself a veteran, noted.
``I think it takes a war to bring (to people's knowledge that we have freedom) because other people worked to make it that way,'' Sandra Lealofi said. ``We just take it for granted.''
Ellie