A solemn Memorial Day remembrance – and a nod to the ‘dogs of war’

As it always is, the emotional theme of Front Royal’s sixth annual and now municipally-sponsored event was sacrifice in service to one’s country – and the lasting pain of the one’s left behind by those who make the ultimate sacrifice – their lives.

“For some, every day is Memorial Day,” keynote speaker Lt. Colonel Michael Starling, U.S. Marine Corps (retired) said of those who have lost a friend, family member or loved one to war.  It is a loss the pain of which does not go away for 364 days of the year until the next official national remembrance.

The ultimate sacrifice and the pain of that sacrifice on those left behind was a connecting theme throughout the remarks in the opening phase of the program – the phase dedicated to human sacrifice.  As Front Royal Memorial Day event founder and Co-Chairman Malcolm Barr Sr. noted in opening his remarks, the Front Royal event is unique in its two-phased tribute to human and canine service and sacrifice.

Royal Examiner cameras were there! CLICK HERE to watch the ceremony.

“I have always felt it appropriate to do this in Front Royal since it was here that the first enlisted dogs of World War II were trained in 1942,” Barr said in his remarks on Memorial Day 2018, telling the crowd, “This parade of canines is our way of paying tribute to the war dogs, together with the dogs of local law enforcement, who spend their lives protecting us and our families in these times of strife here and around the world.”

In his blessing offered to the dogs of war and those dogs present with their owners in phase two of the ceremony, lay Minister Michael Williams noted the nature of the canines “who give their unconditional love to us whether we deserve it or not.”

Therapy dog Bentley and his handler Diana Lieber led the Parade of Dogs tribute

In launching the parade of dogs, Williams thanked the Almighty for the gifts of friendship and devotion from our canine companions – “Especially for the dogs that with their lives daily, protect our local streets, our airports, our borders, our first responders, our soldiers.  We bless them today, and all animals, for their selfless sacrifice, that they might live long and beautiful lives, reminding us of the ultimate love that you gave us, through the sacrifice of your only son.”

And it was a handsome variety of dogs large and small that partook with their owners in the annual Parade of Canines.

But after presenting his overview of this year’s event, again moderated by Co-Chairman Maj. Robert MacDougall, USMC Reserve, Barr returned to phase one of the ceremony.  Quoting from an article in the Washington Post by Marine veteran Gus Biggio, Barr read the Afghan war veteran’s observation on the reality lived by soldiers at war and those left behind:

“We choose to serve. And when we choose to serve sometimes chance chooses us.  Every deployed service member leaves behind someone who cares, someone who, when giving one last hug before their warrior ships out, feels their pride clash with the fear that this last hug might be the last hug.  After that, every call from an unknown number, every unexpected knock on the door, reignites the constant worry in the daily lives of those on the home front, making them shudder at the prospect of what might be.”

Barr continued to recount Biggio’s observations on death in service in the America of the 21^st century – an America where military service is now voluntary; an America that periodically places prohibitions on news agencies filming the return of American servicemen in caskets from overseas, including from the Afghan front where Biggio served nine years ago in what is now America’s longest-running military conflict.

Local Memorial Day event founder and Co-Chair Malcolm Barr quoted an Afghan vet on the sacrifices abroad and at home.

“In an era when military service is the exception rather than the norm, the death of our service members in combat is often a concept as distant as the lands where they fought.  Local newspapers may run an article about the hometown hero, but usually little attention is paid to a life cut short in service to our nation, the loss drowned out among news of celebrity gossip, political shenanigans or the other minutiae that consume our lives.  The families of those killed in action are soon left to face their grief as well as they can, often alone.  For them, the ceremonies honoring their loved ones are a stark reminder that one of the constant realities of war throughout history is that bad things will happen to good people. – This Memorial Day, take a moment to honor and remember them,” Barr quoted Biggio’s conclusion.

Marine Lt. Colonel Michael Starling (ret.) delivered a sterling Memorial Day Keynote Speech – and challenge to those present

Keynote speaker Starling then rose to put a human face, a local face on the day.  He noted that Joseph Warren, the Massachusetts physician, state congressman and soldier for whom Warren County, Virginia is named, died a hero’s death in the Battle of Bunker Hill during the Revolutionary War.

Lt. Col. Starling then recited the names and personal histories of some of the sons of Front Royal and Warren County whose lives have been lost to war: Edward Eugene Casarotti – “baseball in 1930’s; silk industry in town; landed at Utah Beach at Normandy (with this reporter’s father) – “Lost while clearing western France of German forces”. Larry Eugene Smedley – born Front Royal 1949; attended high school in Orlando, Florida and joined the Marines before graduation; led his six-man squad in Vietnam on a pre-emptive attack against a superior force raining U.S. troops with rockers, mortars and machine gun fire; died from wounds incurred on a successful attack on the machine-gun position. Charles William Davis – the Polk Avenue resident of Front Royal called “Bongo” by his football coach, joined and re-enlisted to serve in Vietnam.  Lost in action on July 6, 1966, at age 25 during security patrols near DaNang in Quang Nam Province.

Noting the loss of friends he had served with, Lt. Col. Starling, now an official at Randolph-Macon Academy in Front Royal, added one R-MA name out of 51 he noted are etched on a memorial wall at the academy for cadets lost in wars since World War I: Adam Mooney – R-MA Class of 1992, Army helicopter pilot, killed on January 25, 2004 when his helicopter crashed trying to rescue a soldier whose boat had capsized in the Tigris River during the Iraq War.  Of Mooney’s loss, Starling noted, “Adam’s body was recovered three weeks later, just after his first wedding anniversary.”

Jacob Bols blew Taps to close Front Royal’s Memorial Day 2018 tribute

“Our nation’s military ranks are filled with the likes of Casarotti, Davis, Smedley, Mooney.  Some end up making the ultimate sacrifice to secure the freedom we enjoy every day.  We owe them a debt we cannot pay in our lifetime,” Lt. Col. Starling told Front Royal’s Memorial Day crowd.

A debt that can never be paid in full

But if not paid in full, Starling asked those present to begin that payment by remembering and sharing – “Their stories convey values of service, valor, patriotism and sacrifice that are some of the strongest fibers of our nation’s character.  It is our solemn duty to remember and recall these stories of those we know, and from where we live, so that they may be securely possessed by future generations.”

And as another step in paying our debt to those whose lives have been sacrificed for the greater good of a nation, Lt. Col. Starling asked those present to volunteer for service at home – “Get in the trenches to improve humanity and contribute to the greater good here at home, starting in our hometowns,” Starling suggested, observing, “There are plenty of worthy causes looking for the tenacious and those willing to sacrifice some of their time and talents.”

And there is a Memorial Day challenge we should all embrace – for those who didn’t make it home to offer their perspective and talents to their communities and nation.

And a challenge for us all

Starling closed by acknowledging the loss of Marine Colonel Wesley Fox (retired), who passed away last November; as well as all the Gold Star family members present.

Also acknowledged by speakers were veterans present, including another one of our own local heroes, Bunky Woods – a survivor of the Iraq War wounded while leading a rescue mission for other U.S. soldiers wounded in the field – God bless and great seeing you again, Bunky.

Second Iraq war veteran Bunky Woods with family and friends close by

Putting a sterling musical backdrop on the event was the Skyline High Brass Ensemble; Veteran Diana Lieber and Service Dog Bentley led the Parade of Dogs; Dennis Henline, president of Front Royal’s Elks Club 2382, an ordained minister and veteran of both the U.S. Army (1971-73) and the U.S. Marine Corps (1973-80), provided the invocation and closing prayer; R-MA cadets commanded by T/Sgt. Tina Laing, a U.S. Air Force veteran of the Iraq war, provided a guard of honor for the wreath-laying ceremony; young Jacob Bols returned to Warren County to play taps to conclude the event; Warren County Board of Supervisors Chairman Tony Carter, North River Supervisor Dan Murray and Front Royal Mayor Hollis Tharpe represented the community during the ceremonies; and the AFA handed out flags, courtesy of retired Chief Master Sgt. Norman Brander.

An older vet chats at event’s conclusion

And so it goes in our own age of “perpetual war for perpetual peace” predicted by British author George Orwell in the shadow of World War II and at the dawn of the Cold War with the 1948 publication of his dark futuristic vision “1984”.

The Skyline High Brass Ensemble provided a stirring musical backdrop

Some of the other spectators and dogs gathered for Front Royal’s 6th Annual Memorial Day tribute

Memorial Day Co-Chair Robert MacDougall