Frank Carroll came to Highland’s annual Memorial Day celebration a spectator and left a celebrity.
When two of the event’s keynote speakers were no-shows, Councilman Bernie Zemen asked veterans in the audience to stand up and say a few words.
The mood struck Carroll, 92, a World War II U.S. Navy veteran who was asked to speak last year.
“I’m still thinking about my ship, and it gets me every time,” Carroll said through tears after thanking everyone for coming to Main Square Park. “The ship comes first, even though it sunk.”
Carroll, who survived the shore battery of the U.S.S. Longshaw (DD559) at Okinawa, said he cried last year too when he recalled that awful time.
But the pain turned to joy after one of the town’s Community Events people asked Carroll to be the parade master for the town’s Fourth of July Twilight Parade.
“I’m going to have to ask my daughter if we’ll be able to get back up here then,” Carroll said proudly.
Another veteran, Charlie Burley, of Highland, said he served in Vietnam in 1967-68, and even though he lost a few friends in the war, he’s still proud to live in a country where people will stand up for the rest and defend our freedom.
Navy Ensign James Elder, also of Highland, said heroes walk among us every day.
“A hero is anyone who raises their hand to action and serve our country,” Elder said. “It took great sacrifice, and I’m proud to wear the cloth of the nation.”
Memorial Day always brings shiver to Highland Councilman Konnie Kuiper’s spine. A vet himself, he and his family had just opened up their first funeral home in 1969 when, a year later, one of their first customers was a pregnant woman who’d lost her husband to Vietnam. She came to set up his wake.
As Kuiper gathered the information, he asked the man’s birthdate. She told him March 10, 1939.
“I was born March 10, 1939,” Kuiper told the crowd. “He gave his life so that the rest of us could live ours. I’m proud to be a vet, but that story still gives me goosebumps.”
Clerk-Treasurer Michael Griffin told the crowd he hoped everyone’s hearts are appropriately grateful for not just the service people who died, but for those who continue to serve — and die — in foreign lands.
“We’ve still not learned to live peaceably with each other,” Griffin said.
More Top Picks Best Wood Chippers For Yards
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.