Memorial Day observance blessed with sunshine

by Dan McClelland

After more than a week of rain and day-time highs often only hitting the mid-40s, the 150 or so who came out to Monday morning’s Memorial Day observance at the Veterans’ Park here, seemed to very much enjoy the sun and warmth.

American Legion Commander Mark Moeller welcomed the crowd standing on the closed off block on Park Street.

“I welcome you all here this morning on behalf of the VFW Post 3120, American Legion Post 220, Adirondack Leathernecks Marine Corp League and the Tupper Lake Honor Guard,” he said in his opening comment. The three veterans post rotate hosting the Memorial Day and Veterans Day services here each year.

“More than one million men and women of the United States have sacrificed their lives in defense of this nation. We are gathered here today to remember their sacrifices and celebrate the fact that throughout history this great country produced such men and women of such honor. We must not forget them!”

He introduced retired Tupper Lake Baptist Chapel pastor Rick Wilburn to give the opening prayer, as he has done for many veterans’ observances at the Park Street site in the past decade or so.

“Lord, we give you thanks for the American way of life that we enjoy today. Let us not forget that the rights and privileges that we enjoy today have blood on them and that every good gift was bought and paid for by human sacrifice. Today we honor all those who have gone before us and made the supreme sacrifice. Amen.”

The Tupper Lake High School Band, under the direction of Laura Davison, then put the ceremony into high gear in it traditional accomplished ways, playing the national anthem. The crowd answered with robust applause.

The American Legion Post commander led participants in the “Pledge of Allegiance.”

Mr. Moeller then invited Mr. Wilburn back to the podium, after a detailed introduction of him.

“Richard Wilburn, also know as Rick or Pastor Rick, is today’s guest speaker,” the master of ceremonies began.

“He originally hails from Georgetown, near Columbus, Ohio. Rick graduated from high school there in 1972 and married Judy Norman in 1974. They have two children and five grandchildren.

“Rick enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1974, retiring 21 years later in 1995. After basic training he was assigned to Lackland Air Force Base to a technical school for crypto-graphic communications maintenance. From 1976 to 1979 he was assigned to Wright- Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, and then assigned as a military training instructor for crypto maintenance to Lackland AFB in San Antonio, Texas.

In 1982 Rick earned his bachelor’s degree in vocational education. From 1983 to 1990, he was in Europe, with special duty attached to the Fourth Allied Technical Air Force Signal Corps NATO where he worked with the German forces, The Brits, the Canadian forces and the Belgium and Luxembourg military.

“Rick earned a master’s degree in human relations in 1990 and that year he also moved from Griffis Air Force Base in Rome where he was deputy director for family support.

“Rick retired in 1995 as master sergeant and from there went on to work with the Boy Scouts of America organization where he was the district executive. He began his ministry thereafter in 1998 where he first served in local Baptist churches in Rome, N.Y. He then attended the Mid-America Theology Seminary and graduated in 2002 with a master’s in divinity.

Mr. Moeller said it was in that year that he and Judy moved to Tupper Lake where he became the pastor at the Tupper Lake Baptist Chapel where he served for 18 years before retiring in 2021.

“Rick and Judy continue to reside in Tupper and Rick continues to give back to our community as a member of the Rotary Club, the American Legion post, on the pastors’ ecumenical council, with the Tupper Lake Food Pantry, the Adirondack Adult Center, the JCEO and the public library board.”

Coming to the podium, Rick Wilburn joked “there was a fair chance that Mark’s introduction will take longer than his speech” that morning. “But I guess it should, given the amount of time it has taken me to accomplish all those things!”

He began his comments by recognizing several friends not in attendance that morning, due to their deaths since Memorial Day of last year.

He became choked up for a moment, apologizing to that morning’s crowd and telling them “Memorial Day often makes me emotional.”

Pointing to Tupper Lake Honor Guard Leader Mike Larabie, who had returned that morning to the service organization after many month of illness. “Mike, we’re so glad to see you back with us today!” His remarks was greeted with loud applause and cheering. He joked “we will forgive you for missing our November ceremony!”

“My time here in Tupper Lake I’ve shared with a number of individuals- and I’ll share with you a couple of their names. I was close with them and they can’t be here today. He listed the late David Premo and the late Bob Woods, who said always attended these ceremonies in their uniforms. “I was always jealous, as there was no way I could still fit into my air force uniform,” he joked, noting he’d need four uniforms to make one that would fit him now.

“Another good friend of mine was Bruce LaVoy, who also worked with the scouts, and another friend, Harry Wilber, who passed away of Agent Orange poisoning and a casualty of the Vietnam War.

“Mark asked me to speak on what Memorial Day means to me, and I’ve thought a lot about that” in recent days. “Memorial Day is the traditional first day of summer- the time of barbecues, ball games, races, cook-outs and boating. But it’s also a time of remembering the fallen...to remember those who fell establishing our freedoms, those who fell protecting our union and those who fell protecting our nation’s freedoms.

“Those who fell establishing our freedoms...that began at Lexington and Concord. I’ve had the privilege of visiting those places, hiking some of their trails, and seeing those stone walls and court yards. Becoming somewhat emotion, he said he often thinks of the sacrifices those men and women made in fighting there. “What bravery it must have taken for those militias to stand up to what at the time was the strongest military force in the world.

“In the Revolutionary War, there were 6,800 casualties. But disease took another 17,000. By the way, General Washington was a pioneer in getting his troops vaccinated with Small Pox vaccine and he took the first dose himself.

“After the Revolutionary War was resolved, the English came back at us again in 1812. There was 2,260 casualties that time with 15,000 more deaths from disease.

“Some of you may think of the national anthem and Fort McHenry at Baltimore, but I also remember, and I’ve been to the battlefields in New Orleans where our generals and General Jackson in particular and their troops there did a fine job driving the enemy away!

“Then there was the Mexican-American War...people fighting for their rights and their liberties.

“In the Civil War 650,000 fatalities occurred on the Union side. In all 3.2 million served in the military at the time when there were only 32 million people in the country!

“I’ve been to Gettysburg and stood there and up on Little Round Top and saw where General Joshua Chamberlain, a school teacher from Maine, led his troops to hold the line so that the Union Army would have a chance in the next days of winning that conflict.

“I’ve stood in the corn fields of Antietam, one of the bloodiest battles that has ever been fought on American soil or that American ever participated in! The casualties came at the rate of one every five seconds.

“Gettysburg had more. I’ve been to Chancellorsville, seen the monuments there, to Vicksburg and seen the stone wall that the Confederates were able to stand behind and shoot, with the Union soldiers attacking anyway, doing the best they could under the circumstances.

“These people fought to keep our union together. They fought and died to keep our union together. They were fighting for freedom. It is very significant the number of people who were given their freedom as a result of the Civil War!”- referring to the slaves.

“Then we had those who fell defending freedom in so many other wars- and it’s such a long list: the Spanish-American War, World War I, where there were 53,000 fatalities and 63,000 more died from disease. There were 46,000 casualties in World War II, in Korea 54,000 died; in Vietnam, 58,220. I mentioned my friend Harry Wilber earlier, a casualty of that war.

He said the Cold War from 1947 to 1991- a period of time of warfare that is often overlooked.

“The Cold War ended because the Soviet Union government collapsed. But we stood on that wall for freedom for 50 some years...when people were on duty 24/7… ready to go if needed to defend our country.

“Many who served during the Cold War suffered greatly- from the stress of what might have been! -And we are grateful that they stood there ready to defend us!

“Then we move on to the Gulf War. It was interesting for me because I had been stationed in Germany and was on a ‘permanent change of station’ (PCS) back to the United States.

“I was assigned to Griffiss when the Gulf War began. I volunteered and volunteered and volunteered to go. Judy is grateful I didn’t get to go. They wouldn’t let me go because I already had a PCS...they wouldn’t let me have another one!

“But many of the men and women I trained in the NATO facility went,” he asserted, becoming emotional again. “It felt wrong not to be there with them!

“Then we had the recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan “and people talk about how long those wars were.

“I’m grateful that the casualty rates for the Gulf War were few. Only 363 people died in that war. In Iraq and Afghanistan, the fatality rates and the casualty rates were significantly decreased- and I’m grateful for that!

“Mark mentioned that over one million people have died protecting our freedoms. Freedom is a gift from those who fought and paid the price in blood so the rest of us could enjoy the activities of this day.

“Let’s remember today those who gave so much for the rest of us. Take time to do so!

“May we never forget. May God bless you all. May God bless the U.S.A!”

Loud applause.

As he left the podium, Mark Moeller said our nation was fortunate to have Rick serve for over 20 years as a senior non-commissioned officer and then Tupper Lake was the beneficiary of having Rick and Judy join us. I’m thankful for both those things, Rick, and I’m thankful too for counting you as a friend!”

Pastor Wilburn’s address was followed by the traditional laying of the wreaths by the VFW (laid by Kim Kopp) and American Legion posts (Dan Reandeau), Adirondack Leathernecks Marin Corps League (Terry Tubridy), Tupper Lake Honor Guard (Ray Bigrow), the Town and Village of Tupper Lake, both placed by Mayor Mary Fontana, the Tupper Lake Fire Department and its auxiliary, presented by Mike Russell and his daughter Christine, Knights of Columbus Council 2177 (Knights Bob Guiney and Tom Arsenault), Tupper Lake Kiwanis Club (Lisa and Dennis Jones), Tupper Lake Woodmen Life Foundation (Judy Wilburn and Joanne Wilber presented wreath), Sunmount DDSO and local CSEA (both presented by Nina Tice Hair and two men under her care) and two band members, Brock Fleishman and C.J. Levey, on behalf of the middle/high school band.

The honor guard then fired three volleys. Members present were Mike Larabie, Bruce Cooke, Tracy Luton, Brandon Cooke and Ray Bigrow.

“Taps” was ably performed in the traditional somber fashion by guest band trumpeter Wayne Davison.

The crowd was then treated to a great medley of the service anthems of the various armed forces by the full band, and like usual it was a stirring presentation.

MC Moeller thanked Director Davison and her band members for their sterling efforts. “The band comes out in rain or shine- and sometimes snow- and always adds much to each of our two ceremonies each year. We appreciate their participation each time. -And thanks too to that ‘older student’ who did a great job performing Taps.

“I also want to thank our honor guard. Some of you many not know but our honor guard performs dozens of burial ceremonies each year and they probably have hundreds under their belts over the years. They represent a very small organization, but if you have a love one who is being laid to rest and who is a veteran, our honor guard is also willing to pay the last tributes. Like our band, they also perform rain or shine, and I just wanted to thank them for all they do helping veterans and their families in their time of grief...adding a special dignity to their services.

“I also wanted to thank Mike Larabie who is with us today. I know you have been a little under the weather of late, but it’s great to see you here today Mike! We appreciate all you have done with the honor guard over the years!”

After the closing prayer was delivered by Rick Wilburn, the middle/high school band concluded the patriotic service in fitting style with its rousing version of the national anthem.

Guests, as usual, were invited by the host to the VFW Post for refreshments following the observance.