Ruhl sees Memorial Day through a different eyes
Millersburg Memorial Day Keynote speaker Randy Ruhl, a retired lieutenant colonel of the U.S. Army, talked about how Memorial Day changed in his eyes throughout the years.
In its annual Memorial Day service, Millersburg residents had several opportunities to pay homage to the men and women who have served and given their lives protecting and serving their nation’s freedoms.
The first came at Clay Street Park, where American Legion Holmes Post 192 presented arms at the grave site of veteran and hero of three wars Peter Meyers. The group then proceeded to the new Veterans Memorial on Glen Drive before joining the West Holmes High School marching band to parade up Jackson Street to Oak Hill Cemetery, where the main ceremony took place.
A large crowd of people dedicated to honoring America’s fallen service members united at the top of the hill at the cemetery to listen to keynote speaker Randy Ruhl, a retired lieutenant colonel of the U.S. Army.
Prior to that, the marching band opened by presenting “The Star Spangled Banner,” and Post 192 Chaplain Dave Crider provided a prayer before Craig Lawhead, post commander, opened the service.
Ruhl spent 21 years in the infantry and continued serving as mission command for the Third Army Corps, where he was in charge of the integration of live, virtual and constructive simulated base training at a quintet of forts in the U.S. Army.
After thanking all in attendance for taking the time to come out to the ceremony, they thanked veterans and Gold Star family members who had family members lost to service, as well as Lawhead and Post 192.
“I’m humbled to be in front of so many people who care so much about our fallen heroes,” Ruhl said.
Ruhl spoke about what an honor and privilege it was to be able to speak on behalf of the nation’s fallen veterans.
He said spring is a perfect time to have this opportunity to say thanks and pay homage to those who served and gave their lives because spring is like a renewal after a long and cold winter season.
He spoke about how each veteran living today would have a slightly different version of their time served and what Memorial Day means to them, but the overriding theme of the day is one of united thought.
Ruhl said to him the meaning of Memorial Day has been altered since his innocent days of childhood, having gone through the experience of serving his country and seeing fellow infantry members fall and die.
He said he grew up in the 1960s and 1970s in Fredericktown, a town not unlike Millersburg, where hard work and family values are the norm and love of country as a sign of ultimate respect is typical.
“Back then Memorial Day meant putting on my Little League Baseball uniform and marching in a parade, but I never thought too much about why it always ended at a cemetery,” Ruhl said. “The real meaning had not soaked in yet.”
He said as he grew into a teenager, he was too busy enjoying the life of an active teen to slow down and think much about what Memorial Day meant, although watching “The Today Show” as they presented the growing number of casualties during the Vietnam War made him start to take note as to the sacrifices being made.
He said he was sheltered from most of that, but after attending college, he joined the Army, and the true meaning of Memorial Day began to take shape.
“Today, Memorial Day is unlike any other ceremony,” Ruhl said. “For 157 years we’ve been coming to cemeteries to honor and remember those who have fallen in defense of our country. Memorial Day is an important day, but it isn’t really happy.”
He said that shouldn’t dampen the spirit of joy in celebrating the day with family and friends, with barbecues and fellowship, but the day holds special significance for those who have lost someone close to them.
“Across our nation this is a day to give thanks,” Ruhl said. “It’s a day when our citizens and veterans gather to pay tribute and remember America’s finest men and women who gave their lives in defense of our freedom.”
He said freedom may be the cause that people rally around when choosing to serve, but it is anything but free, often costing the ultimate price.
He said those people are the ones who truly are worthy of being honored and remembered.
“On this Memorial Day, I ask that we all pause and reflect on what’s been given and sacrificed so freedom can ring across this great land. We must always remember that life is only as good as what it’s tied to. Too often we fail to remember those whose lives bear the scars of that sacrifice and commitment to our country,” he said.
He said paying respect to the families of those who have fallen is equally important because they are the ones who bear the deepest cuts of agony.
He said watching three of the soldiers he was assigned to train and protect die under his watch drove home the true meaning of this day. The moment of having to contact a soldier’s loved ones and tell them they would no longer see their son or daughter made a permanent image in his life, and he said he hopes everyone will gain insight into how precious life is and how heroic those who served and gave their lives were.
Following Ruhl’s address, the color guard presented a 21-gun salute and the playing of taps.
A more abbreviated service then took place at the Fryburg Cemetery and finally at the cemetery in Berlin, where Ruhl once again provided his message. The Hiland High School marching band joined in the service in Berlin.