Plum Legion Remembers the Fallen

Officially, Memorial Day is a week away, but the ceremony of remembrance came early for members of Plum American Legion Post 980.

The Legion held its memorial service at 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 22. More than 100 people attended to remember the fallen and hear speeches by Iraq veteran and Navy SEAL Cmdr. Matthew W. Shipley, and state Rep. Tony DeLuca, D-Penn Hills.

Jeff Pope, the Legion’s senior vice commander, spoke first at the service, which began indoors and later moved outside to the memorial located at the edge of the Legion’s parking lot.

“On Memorial Day, everyone is on vacations or picnicking,” Pope said in his opening remarks. “And so we want to pick a special day where we have everyone’s undivided attention as to what we’re really celebrating on Memorial Day: the men who we’ve lost.”

The indoor portion of the service featured a rendition of the national anthem and an Irish blessing by members of the Plum High School Chamber Choir, a POW-MIA ceremony by Plum Junior ROTC members and a speech by Shipley, whose awards include a Bronze Star Medal, a Meritorious Defense Service Medal, a Joint Service Commendation Medal, a Navy Commendation Medal and a Navy Achievement Medal.

A reservist, who in 2006 served as executive officer of SEAL Team 3 in Fallujah, Iraq and is currently the commanding officer of SEAL Detachment 18 in Little Creek, Va., Shipley spoke about the need to remember the impact wars have on families.

Shipley mentioned that 25 Plum Legion members had died since last year’s service, including 10 World War II veterans, eight Korean War veterans, six Vietnam veterans and a Persian Gulf veteran who died while serving in Afghanistan in December 2010.

“These are people you knew who touched your lives,” he said, "and they’re no longer with us.”

Recalling his experience in Iraq, Shipley shared tales of loss.

In one instance, an American was injured when an insurgent fired from a rooftop, hitting his weapon and sending shrapnel into his eyes. The man, who was blinded, would later die after reconstructive surgery in 2009 at the age of 28.

After the incident, members of his team rushed the man into a building which was reported to have been occupied by insurgents. A firefight ensued, and a 28-year-old officer was killed.

“Those were dark times for us,” Shipley said. “The loss of even one person is a tragedy.”

In another instance, three members were stationed on a rooftop spotting for insurgents when a grenade bounced off one officer’s chest and landed in front of him. Though he was the only one with a nearby escape, he dived on the grenade. The blast killed him, but his teammates suffered only minor shrapnel wounds.

The parents of that officer, 25-year-old Michael Monsoor, received a Congressional Medal of Honor that was awarded to him in 2008 for his actions.

“Wars have a very real, human cost, and it’s important that we think about that cost,” Shipley said. “We need to remember that thoughts, ideas and actions have real consequences. So let us honor our (dead) by upholding the values that our first service members died to secure, which is now embodied in our Constitution.”

When the service moved outdoors—it was a sunny day, despite earlier predictions of rain—attendees witnessed the lowering of the flag, a roll call of deceased members, a performance of taps and a rifle salute.

Then Rep. DeLuca spoke, praising military personnel, both alive and dead, for their sacrifices.

At one point, DeLuca mentioned the SEAL team whose members brought down Osama Bin Laden just weeks ago.

“They are very courageous to have performed such a remarkable task,” DeLuca said.

But at the heart of DeLuca’s message was commemorating the fallen.

“We must continue to bear witness for those who never returned from the deserts of the Middle East, the jungles of Vietnam, the forgotten war of Korea,” he said. “These men paid the ultimate sacrifice so we could be here today.”