About 1,000 people showed up Monday morning to Memorial Island for the Military Officers Association of America's annual Memorial Day ceremony, and in a county where nearly one in nine residents has served in uniform, that kind of turnout feels exactly right.
The Vero Beach High School Band opened with a patriotic medley before names were read aloud from the cenotaph: Indian River County servicemen and women who gave their lives from World War I through the Global War on Terror. Most of the ages listed were under thirty. Some were teenagers. Hearing those numbers in the open air, one after another, has a way of cutting through the long weekend noise.
Three World War II veterans sat in the audience. Among them: Bill Keegan, who turns 102 this Monday, June 1. His birthday party is open to the public at the American Legion at 11:30 a.m., a rare chance to honor someone who lived through history firsthand.
The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Michelle Dale, who founded the local Gold Star Mothers chapter after losing her son, Army Corporal Dale Kridlo, in Afghanistan in 2010. His name appears on the cenotaph alongside eight other fallen from the Global War on Terror, including Eric Soufrine at 20 and Chase Stephenson at 21.
Keynote speaker retired Marine Colonel Gerry Berry closed out the ceremony with a story that belongs in any account of American military history. On April 29, 1975, Berry flew eighteen straight hours off the roof of the U.S. Embassy in Saigon as the city fell, taking fire the entire time, and invoked presidential authority he didn't technically have to get the last American ambassador out of Vietnam. It worked. The crowd heard it with the kind of quiet attention the story deserves.
The ceremony ended with a rifle salute, taps, and benediction. If you missed it this year, mark your calendar: the IRC MOAA returns to the island for the Veterans Day ceremony on Wednesday, November 11. Before that, Let's Talk Vero hosts Let's Talk Veterans at Riverside Theatre on Tuesday, June 23, RSVP is required. Stars and Service follows on the Riverside Theatre campus July 2 and 3.
My name is Ava Cook and I am a Freshman at Florida Southern College in Lakeland FL. I am currently a B.F.A musical theatre major with a minor in Business Administration. I love reading, singing, acting, dancing, and writing. My favorite part about Vero Beach and Indian River County as a whole is how close the community is. Vero Vine is important to me as it allows me to do my part it bringing the community together also, sharing events, small businesses, and other local happenings. If you have any questions or any recommendations for me, my email is always open [email protected].
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