(PHOTOS) Veterans Day Memorial Service at the Decatur Cemetery
U. S. Navy Veteran Samuel Rambo salutes the American flag during the annual Veterans Day Memorial Service at the Decatur Cemetery on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023. Photo by Dean Hesse.
Decatur, GA — The Auxiliary Unit from American Legion Harold Byrd Post 66 in Avondale Estates held its annual Veterans Day Memorial Service at the Decatur Cemetery on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023. The service was first held after a Memorial Rock was placed at the cemetery by the post in 1945 and has taken place each year since.
“Today it is our privilege to say thank you to all Americas Veterans, to let them know that we appreciate them for their service and honor them for their sacrifices. The price of freedom is high, we cannot afford to forget those willing to pay it,” American Legion Auxiliary Unit 66 President Sarah Zingarelli said.
Retired U. S. Army Sgt. Maj. Thelbert Ratcliff attends the annual Veterans Day Memorial Service at the Decatur Cemetery on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023 with his grandsons Michaiah and Matthias. Photo by Dean Hesse.
Thelbert Ratcliff was drafted into the U. S. Army and served in Vietnam from 1969-1970. He spent twenty-six years in the service, retiring as a Sergeant Major. Ratcliff attended the annual Veterans Day Memorial Service at the Decatur Cemetery on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023, with his grandsons Michaiah and Matthias. Photo by Dean Hesse.
U. S. Army Veteran Steve Carson attends the annual Veterans Day Memorial Service at the Decatur Cemetery on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023. Carson was drafted in 1971 and served in Korea and as an Instructor at the U. S. Army Signal School at Fort Gordon (now Fort Eisenhower.) Photo by Dean Hesse.
U. S. Army First Sergeant (retired) Joe Girard and his wife Sharon attend the annual Veterans Day Memorial Service at the Decatur Cemetery on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023. Girard was an enlistee, serving in Vietnam 1969-1970, and had a 35-year military career. Photo by Dean Hesse.
U.S. Navy Veteran Samuel Rambo, who served on a guided missile cruiser in the early 1960s, wears a POW/MIA patch on his jacket during the annual Veterans Day Memorial Service at the Decatur Cemetery on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023. Photo by Dean Hesse.
American Legion Harold Byrd Post 66 placed a Memorial Rock at the Decatur Cemetery in 1945 with this plaque affixed to it. Since then, the Post’s Auxiliary Unit had held an annual Veterans Day Memorial Service in front of it. Photo by Dean Hesse.
U. S. Army Veteran Joe Girard Wears a Stars and Stripes windbreaker during the annual Veterans Day Memorial Service at the Decatur Cemetery on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023. Photo by Dean Hesse.
U. S. Army Veteran David Peak lowers his head for a moment of silence during the annual Veterans Day Memorial Service at the Decatur Cemetery on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023. Photo by Dean Hesse.
U.S. Army Veteran’s Hugo Aldrich (left) and Steve Carson lower their heads for a moment of silence during the annual Veterans Day Memorial Service at the Decatur Cemetery on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023. Photo by Dean Hesse.
American Legion Harold Byrd Post 66 Commander Bernando C. Brown speaks during the annual Veterans Day Memorial Service at the Decatur Cemetery on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023. “Today we honor all our veterans who unselfishly place their lives on the line for our freedom. These men and women were ordinary people until they heard the call of duty and answered it. They left their families, their homes and their lives not for recognition or fame or even the honor we bestow of them today,” Brown said. Photo by Dean Hesse.
U.S. Army Veteran David Peak wears a poppy during the annual Veterans Day Memorial Service at the Decatur Cemetery on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023. Photo by Dean Hesse.
A faded map of Vietnam is seen on the back of U S. Army Veteran David Peak’s jacket during the annual Veterans Day Memorial Service at the Decatur Cemetery on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023. Photo by Dean Hesse.
Members of Troop 175-Decatur raise the American flag during the annual Veterans Day Memorial Service at the Decatur Cemetery on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023. Photo by Dean Hesse.
American Legion Auxillary Unit 66 President Sarah Zingarelli and American Legion Harold Byrd Post 66 Commander Bernando C. Brown place a poppy wreath at the Memorial Rock during the annual Veterans Day Memorial Service at the Decatur Cemetery on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023. Photo by Dean Hesse.
Attendees salute the American flag during the annual Veterans Day Memorial Service at the Decatur Cemetery on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023. Photo by Dean Hesse.
Members of Troop 175-Decatur raise the American flag during the annual Veterans Day Memorial Service at the Decatur Cemetery on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023. Photo by Dean Hesse.
U.S. Army Nurse Corps Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Kathy Bloyd stands at the Memorial Rock next to a wreath of poppies following the annual Veterans Day Memorial Service at the Decatur Cemetery on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023. Bloyd read the poem “In Flanders Fields” during the service. Photo by Dean Hesse.
Following the annual Veterans Day Memorial Service at the Decatur Cemetery on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023, U.S. Army Veteran Hugo Aldrich, who retired as a Chief Warrant Officer 4 with thirty-three-years of service said, “God Bless America. We’ve all done our tours. It’s the least we could do to have freedom in the good old U. S. of A.” Photo by Dean Hesse.
American flags placed at the graves of Military Veterans flutter in the wind during the annual Veterans Day Memorial Service at the Decatur Cemetery on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023. Photo by Dean Hesse.
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