Several residents of Kimball county honored the men and women who gave their lives in service to our country at the Memorial Day Service held in the Kimball Cemetery Memorial Day morning.
Veteran Service Officer Ron Scott led the service. Scott organizes and hosts the program yearly.
This year the guest speaker was Scott’s son Retired Air Force Colonel Dr. Ron Scott.
The younger Scott said he is honored to be in Kimball speaking with the men and women gathered. He said Kimball is its own community with its own traditions and customs.
It is communities like this that make up our nation, he said.
Scott said that each community within this nation is a collection of family and friends. These communities represent the greatest freedoms we have, he said.
“Every one of us enjoys freedoms unmatched by any other country throughout the world,” Scott said.
Scott said that since 1776 more than 1 million men and women have given their lives for these freedoms.
“They understand why life as an American is worth living,” he said.
What we have here in America is special, Scott said.
He said that there are pollutions that apologize for having an attitude of “American Exceptionalism.” Scott said that he would not apologize for that.
“Let there be no doubt that America is exceptional,” he said, “I do not apologize for this.”
The attitude of American Exceptionalism explains why our nation has achieved more than other nations, he said.
“It explains why so many people want to come to our country, legally and illegally,” Scott said.
It explains why so many men and women want to give their life for it, he said.
Scott took a moment to read parts of the Declaration of Independence. Quoting, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
Today we honor we honor those who gave their lives for us, he said. Today we honor those who have fought for our rights.
After his son finished, the senior Scott returned to the podium and said that 10 percent of Kimball county’s population are members of the armed services.
Scott added that although we honor the dead this day, we should also honor the living. With that he asked all the vets in the audience to come to the mic and state their name and branch of service. Several did so.
When the vets had finished Scott said he wanted to give special mention to a vet who usually attended the service but stayed in his vehicle. That vet was Lawrence Wigel.
Scott said Wigel served in Africa during World War II. Wigel had the job of destroying ammunition. Scott explained that the U.S. Army was moving so fast across Africa that they did not have time to transport the munitions. As a result units were formed to destroy the munitions left behind.
