June 1, 2023 at 11:02 a.m.
Community pauses to remember the fallen
Community pauses to remember the fallen
"To many, Memorial Day is nothing more than a three-day weekend, the unofficial beginning of summer, a great time to take advantage of store sales," noted ceremony emcee Connor Delaney, a 2023 graduate of Rhinelander High School and the son of Oneida County Veterans Service Officer Tammy Javenkoski. "To those of you here, it's obviously more than that. It's the one day a year when we come together to honor the men and women who selflessly gave their lives for something bigger than themselves. I can't think of anyone else who deserves the title of hero more than they do. I'm grateful we have men and women who are brave enough to risk, and sadly sometimes sacrifice, their lives to defend our freedom, but I'm also very cognizant of the moms and dads, sisters and brothers, wives and husbands, as well as their battle buddies, whose lives will never be the same again. I salute our heroes and I salute all those who will forever bear the pain of their loss."
The keynote speaker was U.S. Navy veteran Kristine Hawn, an explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) technician.
"Today is a day of remembrance but also a day of celebration," Hawn said. "We can remember those we lost but still celebrate their lives. We can remember the immense cost of our freedom yet recognize and revel within these freedoms. What is the point of counting the cost if we cannot enjoy these freedoms? And it is the men and women who have given their lives, who were taken prisoner, or who made the choice to serve, that have allowed us to continue to walk in these very precious freedoms...."
Hawn also spoke movingly about service members lost to suicide after having survived the battlefield.
They are "prisoners of war" due to mental health and substance abuse issues tied to their military service, she said, highlighting the story of the late Kevin Powell, a fellow EOD technician who was recently laid to rest,
"The Kevin we knew is still missing in action, he never really came back from his deployment," she said. "He was imprisoned by memories, guarded by addiction and tortured by regrets. He was a prisoner of war that walked among us and he died in his captivity."
Hawn ended her speech by reciting the second verse of "America the beautiful," which she said eloquently defines those honored on Memorial Day.
O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country love
And mercy more than life!
America! America! May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness, And every gain divine!
The ceremony also included performances from the Rhinelander High School band and show choir as well as readings of "The Gettysburg Address" and "On Flanders Fields" by 2023 Rhinelander High School graduate Colten Wanta, a recipient of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Ray Rousseau Post 3143 scholarship.
The scholarship was formally presented to Wanta during the ceremony. Doing the honors was his grandfather Robert Smith, commander of American Legion Post #7 and a member of the Northwoods Honor Guard.
The ceremony ended with the reading of the names of all of the Oneida County veterans who have passed away since last Memorial Day, a three-volley salute, and a solemn rendition of "Taps" as a final tribute.
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