They shall not have died in vain
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
His voice breaking, Navy veteran Dennis Bousquet, said, “We honor those who gave their lives that our nation might live. We cannot dedicate. We cannot consecrate. We cannot hollow the ground. The brave men and women, living and dead, who struggled throughout the world — They have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract.”
In his Remembrance address at the Pomfret Memorial Day program, he challenged the audience. “We must never forget what they did for us. The unfinished work. From these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause which they gave the last full measure of devotion.”
Following a proud parade undaunted by the rain, Putnam’s keynote speaker, Eric Kapitulik, a former Marine Corps major, described all the tough challenges he faced including surviving a helicopter crash where six of his teammates died, triathlons to raise money for college scholarship funds for the kids of his deceased teammates, climbing Mount Everest and more.
But then, “I’ve done one thing in my life that’s hard. One thing. It isn’t swimming to the ocean surface 200 feet above me with a bone sticking out of my leg. And it most certainly isn’t eight Iron Man triathlons or climbing Mount Everest. Instead the only thing that I’ve ever done was neither deployed in defense of our nation nor racing nor climbing. I was sitting at my desk.”
His commanding officer asked him to volunteer.
The only hard thing he had to do was ring a doorbell. “I stood there shaking. I knew when I rang the bell I was going to ruin this woman’s life.” Tell her that her 18-year-old son had been shot and killed in Iraq. “I caught her as she fell to her knees weeping.”
The country’s precious freedoms are paid for with precious blood.
In her essay, Haleigh Raymond, a Pomfret Community School eighth grader who won the Memorial Day Essay award from the Pomfret Lions Club, said she wanted to “bring life to the people who have served or are still serving. I would like to commemorate their acts of service, hard work and great, great courage. It is essential that you take a moment on this day to truly honor their sacrifices by reflecting on the freedoms we enjoy because of their courage.”
State Senator Mae Flexor spoke at both programs.
In Putnam Mayor Barney Seney, noted the solemn day, and the “sacrifices made for our freedom.” The wreath was placed by VFW Post 1523 Commander Hans Lowell and American Legion Post 13 Commander Michael Rocchetti. Taps was played by bugler Tyler Eddy. The PHS concert band and singers entertained. Also honored with American flags that recently flew on the Rt. 44 bridge were Grand Marshal Peter Regas and Kapitulik. Three others, Arthur Corey, Harold Charbonneau and Willie Bousquet will have their flags delivered to them.
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The Putnam Elks float in the Memorial Day Parade. Expanded photo array of Putnam and Pomfret Memorial Day events Wed. night on our FB page. More photos on page 4. Linda Lemmon photo.