Remembering Fallen Heroes

Memorial Day celebrations began this morning at the Lauderdale County Courthouse with a ceremony in remembrance of fallen soldiers.

President of the Memorial Day Committee, Danny Smith, says that without the sacrifice things could have been different.

“When you stop and think that had those folks not done what they did we may be speaking German, maybe speaking Japanese, not anything against them, but during that period of time in the war, we had to have their sacrifices to keep what we have today” stated Smith.

Sam Feltensteie, an Army veteran, remembers his classmates and best friends today who lost their lives in Vietnam.

“It's extremely important, believe me. I lost nine of my classmates in Vietnam, and then three of my very best friends in Vietnam. I remember them every day and that's why I'm here today, to honor them.

Kerry Gilmer was the guest speaker for the ceremony. Gilmore says every Memorial Day brings back memories

“Memorial Day means everything. I’ve lost, like I said in my speech, so many friends and it's a day that everything comes rushing back to me.”

In his speech, Gilmore not only remembered fallen soldiers on the battlefield but also the deaths in the suicide of soldiers.

“I just wish, as a society, we could do more to prevent suicide. As I said, there's over 5,200 deaths during combat since 1999, but there's been over 200,000 due to suicide. That's just ridiculous. We should do something more about it.”

Since 1868, fallen heroes have been remembered on Memorial Day. Today marks the 154th year of the celebration.