A spirit of remembrance was present at Memorial Day events held across the South Coast on Monday to pay tribute to fallen warriors.
The first of the day was held at the Goleta Cemetery, where about 150 people gathered.
As the morning sun hovered over the rows of flags spotting the headstones, several speakers talked about the importance of recalling the sacrifice.
Santa Barbara native Gen. Frederick Lopez, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps for 31 years, was one of those speakers, and said the fallen “had the same hopes and dreams that we have been able to live out because of their sacrifice.”
“We want, and we need, to remember,” he told the crowd. “To do anything less would be to dishonor those who have paid the ultimate price.”
Goleta resident and former U.S. Army Sgt. Scott Wilson read the poem “In Flanders Fields,” which was penned after a 17-day siege in Belgium.
“I have no idea what a 17-day siege must have been. My generation went through a siege at Khe Sanh, and it was a very difficult experience,” he said, pausing with emotion.
Across town, several hundred people packed into the Veterans Memorial Building in Santa Barbara to remember.
As people played volleyball and rode bikes nearby at West Beach, a solemn spirit of remembrance filled the hall.
Col. John Handy of the 351st Civil Affairs Command spoke briefly, and Iraq War veteran Raymond Morua, who was deployed to Iraq in 2003, recalled seeing the Persian Gulf for the first time.
Morua said he doesn’t often share war stories, and when he does it’s with fellow veterans and “it’s more like a counseling session.”
But on Memorial Day, it was important to share and to remember.
“Today I choose to honor my friends who didn’t make it back,” he said. “In a world surrounded by chaos and death, we still managed to laugh.”
Morua said his fondest memories were watching his fellow soldiers return safe from a mission. They would enjoy contraband whiskey and cigars, and even share stories, while sitting among the remains of a former palace belonging to former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, who died in 2006.
“We would sit in the dark in that bombed-out palace, rifles close at hand and share our dreams,” he said. Some of those men didn’t make it back, and “I thank them for allowing me and every other soldier like me, to allow me to share my dreams in a place surrounded by nightmares.”
— Noozhawk staff writer Lara Cooper can be reached at lcooper@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
