05/27/2025
Representing Bowie, Montague County, and my fellow soldiers in Wichita Falls on Memorial Day:
MEMORIAL DAY SPEECH, Wichita Falls, TX, 5/26/2025
by Pamela Lee Barlow, DVM
April showers bring May flowers, as the old saying goes --- and that is the reason, they say, that May, when the flowers are in bloom, was chosen for Decoration Day. Years later, Decoration Day evolved into Memorial Day, and in 1971 an act of Congress established Memorial Day as a National Holiday. Decoration Day or Memorial Day, today is all about remembering the sacrifice of our fallen soldiers.
Thank you for joining me today to remember and honor those who lost their lives to give us, and to preserve for us, this life of freedom we enjoy in our United States. We are not alone today, but are surrounded by Gold Star Moms and Dads, widowed and orphans, brothers and sisters, friends and classmates, and those who served, who are joining us here, throughout our country and beyond, to pay their respects.
I watched a children’s movie called Coco, inspired by the Mexican holiday Día de Mu***os, the Day of the Dead. The premise of the movie was that when the last person stops remembering the dead, they disappear forever and cease to exist. Thankfully, Heaven is not like that, and no one there is ever lost or forgotten. But we here, too, must not forget.
I ask your indulgence as I take a moment to remember and honor my former Commander at South Plains District Veterinary Command, Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Holland. LTC Holland received orders for a civil affairs humanitarian mission in Iraq. He and three other soldiers, along with an Iraqi interpreter, were killed near Baghdad by an improvised explosive device detonated near his Humvee. He left behind his loving wife and two children.
The gospel of John, 15th chapter, 13th verse says:
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
So how great is the love of a soldier who leaves everything behind to fight for a cause and a country full of people he or she has never even met? How great is the love of that military family that stays behind and perseveres, praying every day that the knock on their door never comes? How honorable is the service of someone who has nothing to gain, but everything, up to and including their whole future, to lose? That is the Patriot’s Heart.
To quote Korean War veteran and Purple Heart recipient Howard William Osterkamp of Ohio: “All gave some, some gave all.”
Not all of our war dead left the battlefield in body bags and caskets. They include many more than those who died on the battlefields. Some of our walking wounded who came home became the walking dead, and we lost them even years later, and continue to lose them, to su***de. These are equally the casualties of wars. Today, I ask that we remember them, too, with the honor and respect that they deserve for their service to our Country.
As long as there is war, there will be soldiers, battlefields, wounded, and our honored dead. Even as weapons change from swords and spears to missiles and drones, the truth of war is destruction. The truth of destruction is death and grief. If only humankind could find another way to resolve our differences. But from Cain and Able in the beginning, to the World War, twice, to Russia and Ukraine in recent years, to India and Pakistan only a few days ago, the fighting continues. Heaven help us all.
I thank you for meeting here today to share time together and remember our fallen comrades, and I thank you for allowing me to participate with you. We must make sure their sacrifice will always mean something. They will be remembered. We will not forget. Have a blessed day.
https://www.newschannel6now.com/2025/05/26/wichita-falls-community-gathers-annual-memorial-day-ceremony/?fbclid=IwY2xjawKiF_dleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFkclFYenl4bG9rT216S1R3AR4lNn7GqlfRDqMQzgX8BqFbqq66SnLbw0_y_2filJMId1HwC0X2yhf_WDxSrw_aem_-C3hB1ewln6nrylzAhAaZA
People from across the community came together at the Wichita County Cemetery for the annual Memorial Day ceremony, also known as Decoration Day.
