Ride with Me! Memorial Day 2016

Memorial Day is meant for remembering the fallen who have died in service to our country. At Niobrara, Nebraska, a long overdue memorial to the 74 sailors who perished on June 2, 1969, was revealed and dedicated.

            

On that date, while doing maneuvers in the South China Sea near Vietnam, the USS Frank E. Evans destroyer collided with the Australian aircraft carrier Melbourne. The Evans was split in two by the much larger aircraft carrier. The front portion of the ship sank within three minutes taking the seventy-four doomed seamen with it.

Niobrara was selected for this marker because of the three Sage brothers who all perished in that fateful collision. Gary, aged 22, Gregory, 21, and Kelly, 19, were from Niobrara and were all stationed together on the ship per their request.

Numerous attempts by the survivors and family members to have those seventy-four seamen’s names engraved on the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C. have failed. There is still a concerted effort to make this happen, but until then the names of the seventy-four are engraved on two slabs right off of Highway 12 in Niobrara.

 

During the ceremony, a survivor of the sinking gave his perspective about the experience and reminded the family members in attendance that he and the other survivors were dedicated to getting the seventy-four names on the Wall in Washington D.C. They read off each name in alphabetical fashion and tolled a bell for each man. Governor Ricketts was scheduled to appear and speak, but “scheduling problems” kept him away.

            

The fallen men were accorded a twenty-one gun salute, and members of area Legion Riders held flags throughout the ceremony to honor the sailors.  I was one of those Riders, and I was happy to stand in the heat holding a flag to honor these poor men who died so tragically at such young ages. I can't even imagine the anguish those Sage brothers' parents must have gone through when they learned of the loss of all THREE of their sons. I'm glad these markers now exist, and I will think about those boys every Memorial Day from here on out.                  

Prior to my ride up to Niobrara on this beautiful Memorial Day afternoon, I attended the services in Neligh where my father, a retired Air Force man, took part in the color guard and helped render the twenty-one gun salute. He also helped put up and take down the flags that peppered the town.

 He's the one on the far right.

My daughter, who will be a senior in the fall, played her flute with the school band in her final tribute. My son used to play "Taps" when he was in high school since he was a trumpet player. It was bittersweet knowing this was the last year to watch one of my kids play in the Memorial Day service.

 She's the one in pink.

Here's the guard and the band in all their glory: 

Here's a couple photos of some of the bikes prior to the dedication at Niobrara.

 

All in all, it was a great Memorial Day doing the things that the day was intended for. We did also have a cook out, so we had a little of what most of the rest of America was doing this day, but I plan to always keep this day set aside to remember those who gave of their times and often of their lives that I might live safe and snug in my modest house in my modest small town smack in the middle of this vast, great country.