Honoring lives and sacrifices

The sun burned fiercely over the opening ceremony for the Freedom's Heroes War on Terror Memorial Sunday evening, but the fire of respect and honor for service members might have burned a little fiercer yet.

About 300 people attended the ceremony in sweltering temperatures at Calvary Christian Center in Yuba City, where the memorial with the names of nearly 5,000 military men and women who've died during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will stand through Memorial Day.

Keynote speaker Robert Jackson, an Army National Guard member who lost his lower legs when his Humvee hit a land mine in Iraq nearly six years ago, said labels like "hero" apply to those supporting at home as well as those on the front lines of combat.

"It really gives me chills to know that some of my brothers' and sisters' names are on here," Jackson said of the memorial.

"It means a lot to us when a community, whether for or against the war, supports the service members and their duty."

The memorial, in its fourth year as a visible reminder of what's honored on Memorial Day, is symbolic of the strong ties between Mid-Valley residents and the military, which has a long presence locally in the form of Beale Air Force Base.

Col. J. Scott Winstead, deputy to the commander of the 9th Operations Group at Beale, spoke briefly on the relationship between the base and nearby communities.

The ties include ongoing dialogue and events coordinated between base leaders and their counterparts in civilian life, and development of a child development center at the base, Winstead said.

"These links at the leadership level are really the glue that keeps us a close-knit community on both the community side and military side that stands the test of time," he said.

Those who attended the ceremony — which kicks off eight days of events involving the military that end with an honor ceremony on Memorial Day itself — kept at respectful attention during the ceremony.

Many active service members attended in dress uniforms, while veterans in the crowd often wore shirts with their affiliation or hats decorated with pins.

Jackson, an Iowa native who now speaks to groups about disabled veterans' issues, told attendees how he'd lost his legs while serving in Iraq, then went through an up-and-down cycle of learning to ski, run, ride bikes and do other activities on prosthetic legs, and every time re-injuring himself and needing more surgery for his injuries.

"You're finding out, 'hey, I'm not alone,'" he said. "I've learned a little about sacrifice, but I'll never know about the sacrifice that the men and women on these walls have given."

After the ceremony, many in the audience walked in front of the memorial to read the names of the fallen military personnel, with a new panel added this year.

Yuba City's Debbie Wood, treasurer of the Tri-County Blue Star Moms, traced the names of two soldiers who'd served with her son, an Army special forces soldier.

"Every friend they have becomes part of your life," Wood said, weeping. "That's why I'm here tonight."

She'll send the rubbings to the fallen soldiers' parents, who she's become close to since they died, she said.

"It's important for them to know that they're remembered," Wood said.

Blue Star Moms president Lori Danby of Yuba City said her son also has several friends' names on the wall.

"Now I have a lot of veterans who are friends. Memorial Day is not just a three-day weekend for me," she said.