Members of the Gothenburg American Legion Honor Guard presented the gun salute during the Monday program at the cemetery. (Leader photo and story by Ellen Mortensen)
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ABOVE: Members of the Gothenburg American Legion Honor Guard were on hand for the Memorial Day program at the Gothenburg Cemetery on Monday. The program returned to the cemetery after a few years of being held at the Veteran’s Memorial at Lake Helen. LEFT: The playing of TAPS is always a somber close to the Memorial Day program.
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ABOVE: Pastor Jonathan Phillips gave the convocation, led the Pledge of Allegiance, and sang The Star Spangled Banner to open the May 25 Memorial Day program at the Gothenburg Cemetery. LEFT: Vietnam veteran Richard Colson was the guest speaker for this year’s program. (Leader photos by Ellen Mortensen)
The statistics are almost more than the human mind can comprehend. More than 405,000 Americans lost their lives in World War II; more than 116,000 in World War I; over 58,000 in Vietnam; and over 36,500 in the Korean War.
More recent conflicts include Afghanistan, with nearly 2,500 American lives lost, and the Iraq war, with more than 4,500.
However, not all casualties of war happen on overseas battlefields. Many of the victims lose the battle in their own minds long after the sound of gunfire ringing around them has ceased. The guest speaker at this year’s Memorial Day program in Gothenburg shared one such tragic story.
Richard Colson of Paxton served in the U.S. Coast Guard during the Vietnam War and spent seven years as the County Veteran Service Officer of Keith, Arthur, and Garden counti…
