Lest We Forget. Memorial Day 2024
"Memorial Day. It's supposed to hurt." Colonel Rob Campbell
Lest we forget this Memorial Day Weekend. I had the honor of speaking at the dedication of a Fallen Heroes Memorial in San Mateo, California this week. The event was special and moving in so many ways. In honor of the fallen, I worked diligently and carefully on this speech. It captures my feelings of Memorial Day, how I believe the fallen still have a voice, and what messages and legacies they leave for us. Here is an excerpt of it. Share it with your co-workers, family, and friends because lest we forget.
Lest We Forget
A Speech to Commemorate the Fallen Heroes Memorial
City of San Mateo, California
“Lest we forget.” Borrowing a line from Rudyard Kipling’s poem Recessional, Lest we forget the service and sacrifice of the men and women enshrined on this monument – this work of art and this place of solemn remembrance. Lest we forget what they – through their ultimate sacrifice created and left for us. Lest we forget the peace, security, and preservation of life these true heroes have given us – a world better than the one they lived in. For if we do forget, if we fail to remember, then their service was in vain. Then we are doomed as a community and as a nation.
I did not know them personally but know them through service. Having served myself and, sadly, knowing many like them who died in service to their nation and their community, I know them. I know the legacy, indeed, the call to service they have left for all of us. Most of them volunteered, some were drafted - each of them served. “I used to work in the United States Marine Corps,” said no Marine ever. We serve - period. That’s what we do and that is what these heroes did. “Protect with Honor | Serve with Pride,” the motto of the San Mateo police department. “Proudly serving the communities of Belmont, Foster City and San Mateo,” the motto of the San Mateo Consolidated Fire Department. They, the heroes honored by this monument did indeed collect pay for their work, but they served a cause greater than themselves. We, those gathered here today, stand on their shoulders in service to our nation and our community.
This magnificent monument is a thing of beauty. Separate pillars representing the branches of service - military and our first responders, the police and fire adorned with the names of the fallen yet forming as one when seen from the right angle into a poppy, the international symbol of remembrance and hope for a peaceful future. A poppy. “In Flanders Fields, the poppies blow, between the crosses row on row.” – a line from “In Flanders Fields,” by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae inscribed in this monument.
There is something much more to this construction project – this object of steel, granite, and concrete - something spiritual I believe. It is a message from these fallen to us the living. “The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die, we shall not sleep…” the poem reads. Their message comes in several forms delivered ‘to’ us and ‘through’ us, the torch holders of today and of tomorrow. Sergeant Leonard Bertren Richards a Korean War casualty, known as a “Buddy” to his family and friends. The second of eight children Leonard’s father had served in World War II. Special Officer Stephen Clark an employee of the city and a volunteer reserve police officer. Officer Clark died nearby at Bay Meadows Racetrack in 1956 rushing to the scene of a car collision to protect others. Staff Sergeant John Harry Graham who fought in both Korea and in Vietnam where he was killed in a vicious firefight leaving behind a loving wife and family. He and over 145,000 others are buried nearby at the Golden Gate National Cemetery. They speak to us.
These fallen spoke to and through their representatives – the citizens of San Mateo and veterans who carried their message to the city – a message of service and remembrance of hope and peace that a proper memorial be erected. They spoke to and through the torch holders of tomorrow – the College of San Mateo Architecture students who crafted the initial drawings of what we now see. They spoke to and through the designers, tradesmen and women, and city leadership and council members who took this project through to completion. This monument flanked by the strength and beauty of these trees backed by a rose garden representing love, gratitude, warmth, and purity. This monument of the fallen, of the separate services identified by each of its pillars which, at the right angle come together in unison behind a message of service, of duty to uphold what they defended and protected. Spiritual indeed. While they rest in peace, they speak to us today and every day. Lest we forget.
They speak to us as we gather here on the cusp of Memorial Day in ceremonial remembrance. We are saddened by the loss of these heroes. Each of them a single loss of human life created ripple effects to their families, friends, and communities. Mothers lost sons, wives lost husbands, and children lost fathers. It hurts to think of the impact of such loss, but that ‘is’ the point. It is supposed to hurt. It is right that we return to that hurt – lest we forget what they did, what they stood for, and what message they have for our generation and the next. As we rush into Memorial Day Weekend let this monument serve as a message to all Americans – Memorial Day is for the fallen not the living. There is no “Happy Memorial Day.” It must hurt so that when America’s sons and daughters are sent to a future field of battle, they are sent behind a just and moral cause backed by a supportive nation. It must hurt so that our citizenry respects the law and the officers which uphold it. Let the hurt sink in and let it teach us to better ourselves, our communities, and our nation. Lest we forget.
I submit, this fitting memorial doesn’t happen if it is not San Mateo, California. This is a special city. I first learned of San Mateo when I was given the privilege of commanding the First Brigade – the 327th Infantry Regiment of the U.S. Army’s famed 101st Airborne Division. Not long after taking command, I met Linda Patterson, her husband Steve and the brigade’s Vietnam Veterans. Linda was hard to miss – a dove among eagles. She put San Mateo on my personal map. ‘A city adopted a military unit?” Yes, of course. What a wonderful idea and example for other American cities. San Mateo delivers “thank you for your service,” in both word and deed. In 1968, with the Vietnam War raging – troop numbers at their peak, this city adopted an Army unit of the 327th Infantry to have as its own – to serve as an enduring bond between the citizenry and its military. A few years later it hosted a parade to honor the service of the 101st – to welcome them home – an expression of love in a nation which spat upon them. I consider our nation’s treatment of the Vietnam generation a national shame and I’m glad we have overcome. As a veteran of our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, I never doubted the support of my countrymen and women. The veterans of Vietnam made damn sure of that. A nations military warriors, and indeed, its police and firemen and women cannot fight, protect, or police without the backing of the citizenry - the backing, love, and support of cities such as San Mateo. This monument is another chapter in a long story of San Mateo’s love for those who wear the uniforms of our nation and our communities – those who serve. Others should do as you do. Lest we forget is not lost in the city of San Mateo.
There are 64 names on this monument – 10 Navy, 32 Army, 6 Coast Guard, 10 Marine Corps, 3 Air Force, 2 Police, and 1 Fire, and, unfortunately, room for more. No person, no nation yearns for war or violence in its neighborhoods. However, it is the unfortunate reality of our times that there are people who wish us harm – and they must be met by those who decide to step up – to answer their nations call. Until such a time doesn’t exist, we will need communities such as San Mateo and its sons and daughters to stare down evil in the quest for a greater peace. We will need them to protect us here at home and rush to our side in an emergency.
You’ve included the names of the fallen heroes of the San Mateo police and fire - its first responders. What a proper and honorable thing to do – San Mateo style indeed. I have always held our first responders in very high regard. As a soldier I was indeed, sent to violent places. But there I knew of an ever-present danger. My defenses were on high alert. As a police or fireman or woman, you live in periods of relative peace and stability yet in a flash you are thrust into harm’s way. That speed of light transition – from calm to chaos takes a special type of person. You leave your home each day likely asking that enduring question which whispers to you – “will I return to my family tonight?” For that, for the security I enjoy each day, the security I have enjoyed in this town, and knowing you will rush to my side when in danger, not run from it, I rest easy at night. For that you have the admiration of this veteran, your community, and your nation. These names on this monument represent you and they speak of service and commitment with a unified voice with their military brothers and sisters. Brothers and sisters are what I call you.
We remember today and thanks to this stunning memorial we can remember every day. Lest we forget.
Private First Class Patrick Devoe from Auburn, New York was killed on March 8th, 2009, by an Improvised Explosive Device or IED during Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan. He was one of my soldiers. Devoe, we called him, joined the Army at an older age of 27. He was the ‘daddy’ of his squad, up early making coffee for his buddies. Each morning in the darkness as I make coffee, I think of him and so many others like the people honored on this monument. It is a strange yet cherished ritual I hold dear. It is my way to remember or better yet, Devoe’s way of speaking to me - reminding me to remember and of my duty to serve others.
God bless the fallen men and women of San Mateo, whose names will live forever on this monument and in our collective hearts and minds. God Bless their families. God bless this wonderful community. If I may modify, slightly the words of the Flanders Fields poem: “The torch; be ours let’s hold it high. If we break faith with these men and women who die, they shall not sleep…” May we all remember - today and every day and may we commit ourselves to serving – our nation, our communities, and each other. Lest we forget.
Colonel Rob Campbell
May 23rd, 2024
Rob Campbell