Speakers urge crowd to honor those who sacrificed
By Teresa Sargeant
Reporter
Citizens must pass on the legacy of freedom and sacrifice to future generations and continue to keep the memory of fallen soldiers alive every day, keynote speaker Steve Deviese told guests at Apopka’s Memorial Day service.
About 200 people, including several public officials, gathered on Monday, May 26, for a community Memorial Day service at the Veterans Memorial at Edgewood-Greenwood Cemetery.
Deviese, a retired certified public accountant, is a member of Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 10147 of Apopka/Altamonte Springs. He was stationed in Japan for 3 ½ years, Taiwan for 2 ½ years and in Vietnam for one year.
Deviese reflected on veterans’ sacrifices, including those who have faced tyranny and terror, and the significance of remembering their contributions.
“Today, Memorial Day, we share a common sorrow, but we are also united in our thanks to those who gave their last full measure of devotion to a cause much greater than themselves,” Deviese said. “Regretfully, the sacrifices of our comrades-in-arms are sometimes forgotten or disregarded, especially by those who have gained the most from it.”
He encouraged the crowd to remember how they can pass on veterans’ legacy of sacrifice and remembrance.
First, Deviese said, people should teach others the sacrifices made on their behalf to enjoy the liberties as given in the U.S. Constitution and help future generations understand that defending one’s nation and fighting for others’ freedom “is the most noble of endeavors.”
Second, everyone must find ways to tell veterans’ anecdotes in a “soundbite culture,” Deviese said, referencing social media’s ubiquitous brief videos that last a few seconds or minutes, also called “stories” on many platforms.
“Their history deserves telling and retelling,” he said. “Find a way in your life, at work or at home, at church or youth group, meeting wherever to keep their memories alive. Honor their sacrifices, tell their stories and cherish their memory.”
Finally, the public should continue to gather on Memorial Day every year to pay tribute to each fallen hero.
“A key component of our nation’s greatness relies in our ability to honor, appreciate and cherish through our actions and our memories all those who died to ensure our freedom,” Deviese said. “We often hear that freedom has a price, and each generation pays its due. Today is our day to say thank you to those who, for generations, who have… paid so dearly with their lives and to their families and friends, those whose lives are forever changed and to whom we owe an enormous debt.”
VFW Post 10147 Andy Anderson opened the ceremony by acknowledging the over 1 million men and women who sacrificed their lives for the nation. He mentioned the two pilots who died on October 15, 2024, when their EA-18 Growler jet crashed during a training exercise near Washington state’s Mount Rainier, the end of the Vietnam War over 50 years ago, and the 2021 U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“But is there any group more deserving of the title than the more than 1 million men and women who have sacrificed lives in defense of this nation?” Anderson said. “I think not, but even within United States, the military is still an inherently dangerous profession comprised of professionals willing to sacrifice for us.”
Later in the ceremony, Anderson called for a moment of silence to honor two VFW Post 10147 members who died in the past year, Lloyd T. Brown and Jack Turman. Senior vice commander Rolland Dourer read the names of the fallen members, followed by a moment of silence.
Organized by the city of Apopka and the VFW Post 10147, the Memorial Day service included a reading of “In Flanders Field” written by John McCrae during World War I and its response poem “We Shall Keep the Faith” by Moina Michael, taps, a gun salute by Joe Kara, Tom Pratt, Larry Comstock, Anthony Perez and Tim Trombitas, and Roger Bankson performing special music.
The Apopka Chief and The Planter are weekly community newspapers, independently owned and family operated, that have served the greater Apopka area in Central Florida since 1923 and 1965 respectively.
Follow The Apopka Chief on Facebook.
Follow The Apopka Chief on X.
Follow The Apopka Chief on Instagram.
