Ceremonies honor service members

By Matt Elofson

Published: May 26, 2008

A white carnation found inside a vase Monday on top of a grave marker for a U.S. Navy and World War II veteran pleasantly surprised Monica Hardwick.

Hardwick traveled to her father’s gravesite at Sunset Memorial Park with several relatives including her son, Tim Hardwick, who played taps in honor of Charles Ray Compton.

“This is a first for me,” Tim Hardwick said of playing taps at the cemetery. “It’s a blessing for me to live in freedom every day. They’re fighting over there so I can do simple things like get up and go get lunch.”

Tim Hardwick, a recent graduate from the University of Alabama, also planned to use his trumpet to play taps for a second grandfather Monday afternoon buried at Memory Hill Cemetery, who was also a veteran of the U.S. Navy in World War II. Hardwick attended the gravesites with his father, Jack Hardwick, along with his two grandmothers, Patsy Compton and Eva Hardwick.

“We thought we’d come here and talk to daddy a little bit, and tell him how much we appreciate his service in the Navy,” Monica Hardwick said. “We were so thrilled about the flower and the flag, that they stopped to take and notice of my daddy.”

At the conclusion of a Memorial Day service hosted by Sunset Memorial Park dozens of people placed carnations at the graves for veterans marked with small American flags.

Jeff Atkins, who has been deployed to Iraq and Kosovo and has served in the Army and currently serves in the Army reserves, placed a flower on a veteran’s grave he did not know. But Atkins said he and his family put the flower on the grave out respect and honor.

“If it wasn’t for the veterans that have gone before us in World War I, World War II and Korea I don’t know where we’d be today,” Atkins said. “They gave the ultimate sacrifice and paid the price for our freedom.”

Atkins attended the event with his wife, Amy Atkins along with their 9-month-old son, Will and their niece Emileigh Wells. Atkins also rides a Honda Shadow motorcycle with the Patriot Guard Riders, a group formed to honor law enforcement and military and people alike who sacrifice their lives for others.

“A lot of people think we just go in there and kill people, but we go in there and try to save lives,” said Atkins, who works as a medic in the Army. “Every Memorial Day I try my best to remember all my fallen friends.”

More than 500 people fanned themselves under a giant tent at Sunset Memorial Park off U.S. 231 North near Midland City Monday afternoon to celebrate holiday. The Silver Wings Army Band from Fort Rucker kicked off the service with some patriotic music.

The service at Sunset Memorial Park, in its second year, had several Army vehicles on display including helicopters and Jeeps. Maj. General Virgil L. Packett II, the keynote speaker, thanked the country’s veterans for their service and the rest of the country for their support. The event also included a catered meal of hamburgers, hot dogs, tea and homemade cookies.

“Those Americans, those national treasures are the most revered in the world,” Packett said, who had recently returned from the Middle East. “It’s about service to our country.”

Laurie Earnest attended the event with her husband, Ben Earnest, and their two daughters, 11-year-old Baylee Earnest and 9-year-old Audrey Earnest, who each placed a carnation on the graves for two veterans.

“I felt like it was important to bring out a flower to remember the soldiers that died and the soldiers that are still fighting today,” said Baylee Earnest.