'Price of freedom never fully paid'
Low-hanging clouds glowed like an angelic halo as the reflection of exploding fireworks illuminated the Red, White and Blue Veteran's Celebration at Doctors Field in Evans on Saturday.
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James Holloway, a member of Sons of Americal Legion, burns old flags during a flag retirement ceremony at Columbia County's Fourth Annual Red, White and Blue Veterans Celebration at Doctors Hospital field on Saturday of the Memorial Day weekend.
Photo by Jim Blaylock
The fourth annual Memorial Day event also featured a parade, choirs and orchestras performing patriotic music, a flag retirement ceremony and several dignitaries offering thanks and praise to the men and women who have served in the U.S. armed forces.
"We spend this weekend thinking about soldiers who have gone before us," Fort Gordon commander Brigadier Gen. Janet Hicks said.
"It is those soldiers that give other soldiers ... the courage to go on."
Hicks honored two Columbia County soldiers in particular who served their country in the Army National Guard during Operation Iraqi Freedom: Capt. Bobby Christine and the late Master Sgt. Thomas Thigpen.
Originally, Christine was to receive the Bronze Star at an Atlanta ceremony. Instead, he attained special permission to accept the honor in his hometown.
"Being allowed to do this here means the world to me," Christine said.
Making the moment even more poignant, Christine accepted the medal in the presence of his father, Al, who himself received two Bronze Stars, a Silver Star and three Purple Hearts for his service as an Army colonel in Vietnam.
"They didn't do things like this for men coming home back then because it wasn't politically correct," Christine said. "To have that support from the community when you come home means more than I can say."
The Evans High School JROTC Color Guard marched in the parade at
Columbia County's Fourth Annual Red, White and Blue Veterans Celebration.
Photo by Jim Blaylock
The family of Sgt. Thigpen, who died March 16 from a heart attack while serving in Kuwait's Camp Virginia, was on hand for a special tribute in his honor.
"I see this as more of a tribute to all the men and women who have served their country," said Thigpen's Army veteran father, Thomas M. Thigpen.
Like the elder Thigpen, Columbia County Commission Chairman Ron Cross paid tribute to all those who died in military service.
"We all should make a special effort to assure that our children and our grandchildren know that this country is the greatest and most blessed in the universe because of the sacrifices made by the people that we remember and honor today," he said to those assembled at the event.
In recognition of America's warriors, some Columbia County state lawmakers were on hand for a presentation designating Columbia Road as a Purple Heart Highway.
"We honor those brave souls who stood for us, for freedom," state Rep. Ben Harbin said.
U.S. Rep. Charlie Norwood reminded the hundreds in attendance of the cost of liberty.
"All of us as Americans know too well the price of freedom is never free," he said. "It is a price that is never paid in full. It is a price paid by our nation's service men and women."
Harlem Middle School's Mallorie Jones sang the National Anthem. The Columbia County Choral Society and the U.S. Army Signal Corps Band also performed during the celebration.
Photo by Jim Blaylock
Grovetown Middle School sixth-grader Shannon Hancock, 12, encapsulated the sentiments of the event in her "Red, White and Blue" award-winning essay.
"In my home, people are not made to go into the armed forces," she wrote. "They join the armed forces because they are proud to be Americans and they try to do their best to keep us safe and free."
Sean Michael McCool, 6 months, whose father Jeff McCool is in the Army, naps during the Memorial Day weekend celebration, held on Doctors Hospital Field in Evans.
Photo by Jim Blaylock