ROBERTA NEE ADAMSStaff Writer

Memorial Day was overcast, adding to the somber and reverent mood of the service in downtown Lynchburg. The crowd gathered quietly, friends greeting each other. Many were veterans with their families. There were parents of soldiers now serving, and sisters, brothers, and children. All coming together to honor and remember those who could not be there, those lost in service.

American Legion Commander Billy H. Thomas, an Army veteran, opened the ceremonies. The invocation was given by speaker Phil Gatto, Army veteran. He prayed for peace, yes, but more for healing and unity for the country. The prayer was followed by the Pledge of Allegiance, after which Dereck Conn sang the National Anthem. Then Commander Thomas the introduced the speaker, long-time Moore County News contributor, Phil Gatto.

Phil spoke with a voice ravaged by cancer from his exposure to Agent Orange while serving a tour in Vietnam. He spoke of Lieutenant Larry Earls who he met while there. They soon discovered that they were practically neighbors back home, Earls being from Murfreesboro and Gatto from Tullahoma. Earls was an amiable guy, and they bonded over familiar names and places. Gatto later learned that Earls was killed in action.

Then he spoke of meeting Private First Class Lynn Turner. Turner and Gatto were of similar stature and features. Many of their comrades swore they looked like twins, though Phil says that neither he nor Turner saw it. Turner wore a wedding ring, and one day told Phil the story behind it. When Turner graduated boot camp, he and his fiancé decided to marry before he left for Vietnam. She was to pick him up at the airport and they would be off to get married. She never showed. Confused and hurt, Turner found out soon afterward that she was killed by a drunk driver on her way to the airport. He wore the wedding ring anyway to honor her, because he said he felt married to her.

Turner and Gatto often swapped out walking point position while out on patrols. One day shortly after Turner took over point, he was struck with an explosion. As Phil scrambled to get to Turner, he saw Turner trying to push his intestines back into his body. Suddenly he looked up, his face calm, and he smiled. He then said “Hello, Good Looking.” Phil said he knew that Turner was not talking to him. Then, Phil recalls, the light went out in Turner’s eyes and he was gone.

Phil then spoke of Sergeant Rodney Evans, who he also met in Vietnam. Phil said he looked like he was about twelve years old. He had a brother in service as well. He survived his tour, and one day while passing through Tullahoma he contacted Gatto. While they did not have time to meet in person, they talked on the phone and caught up with each other and where they were in their lives. Evans had married and seemed to be happy. Not long after their talk, Evans wife was killed in a car wreck. Overwrought and perhaps recklessly, Evans reenlisted in the Army and volunteered for Vietnam. This time, however, he did not survive his second tour. He was killed in action.

Gatto’s speech was heartbreaking, but it exemplified the true meaning of Memorial Day. It is to remember and honor with due respect those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country. Though no one in the crowd knew the men Phil spoke of, he made them real by telling personal stories about them. One could have heard a pin drop during his speech.

The loss of any United States soldier is very personal to some, but is a loss to us all, whether we knew them or not. The red stripes on the flag remind us of the sacrifices made any time we see it, and most of all on Memorial Day.