The Silent Legion by George R. Darrow
I went to the National Cemetery at Fort Richardson on Memorial Day. Several hundred people were there for the ceremony. Music was played, speeches were given, wreaths were laid, artillery fired a twenty-one-gun salute, and taps was played.
As I listened to the music and speeches, I became aware of two presences there that day. On one side of the cemetery’s flagpole were us, the living. Facing us from the other side of the flagpole was the Silent Legion.
The Silent Legion contains all branches of military service, and all ranks from admirals and generals to privates, seamen and airmen. Over here is the retired Navy Master Chief Petty Officer who was a medical corpsman with the Navy Seals in Vietnam. Over there is the Army Sergeant Major who enlisted in World War Two and worked in supply. Back there, by the trees, is the Navy Chief Petty Officer who sailed around Cape Horn in the USS Kittyhawk, and who also served on the USS Ranger in the waters off Vietnam. In a section by a single tree is the Army medic who served stateside on medical trains during World War Two, and who later served as an Air Force doctor in Korea during the Korean War. These are a few of the legionnaires that I was privileged to personally know.
There are those who performed deeds of great valor during the time of war. Others never fired a shot. Every one of them served their country with honor, and all have their stories to tell. We call them “Heroes”, but I believe most of them would have considered themselves as just “Guys”—average guys who had a job to do, and who did it. To me they stand just as tall and proud now as they did in life.
As members of the Silent Legion served the nation in life, so are they also serving it in death. They remind us of the sacrifices that have been made, and will continue to be made, to make this country what it is today. When parents take their children to this place of honor, the National Cemetery, the Legion, teaches the children of the sacrifice and history of the nation.
I went to the National Cemetery at For Richardson, Alaska on Memorial Day. We, the living, departed once the program was over. But the Silent Legion, every vigilant, remained.
TSgt George Darrow, USAF retired and Col Suellyn Wright Novak, USAF retired will present a wreath from the Alaska Veterans Museum in honor of all who have served in the US military and those who’ve died and were buried at Ft Richardson National Cemetery. Thanks to all for your service and sacrifices.