Prayers and patriotism prevailed at Memorial Day services Monday in Jackson and Cape Girardeau that drew hundreds of area residents, many of them veterans who survived the killing fields of long-ago battles.

Army veteran Wilbert Peetz, 81, of Jackson fought in the Philippines in World War II and served in the Korean War.

"It is just a good day to have freedom," he said as he waited for the start of the Memorial Day service at the Jackson city cemetery.

About 200 people attended the 9 a.m. ceremony underneath sunny skies in front of the stone pillars marking the entrance to the old cemetery where soldiers' graves were decorated with small American flags. American Legion Post 158 in Jackson sponsored the event, which included patriotic tunes performed by the Jackson Municipal Band.

About 400 people attended a Memorial Day ceremony later in the day in Cape Girardeau at the Osage Community Centre, sponsored by the Cape Girardeau Joint Veterans Council. The Cape Girardeau Municipal Band performed at that ceremony.

At Cape Girardeau County Park North along U.S. 61, about 500 American flags lined the park road and the county's huge American flag was at half-staff.

Some veterans like Melvin Pohlman, 78, of Jackson said too many young Americans don't understand the sacrifices made by those who served in the nation's wars. Pohlman, a member of the American Legion post in Jackson, served in the Army in the Korean War.

Both ceremonies paid tribute to the "ultimate sacrifice" made by Americans in uniform in past wars, but much of the talk was about the efforts of local National Guard troops who recently returned from Iraq.

Speakers from 1140th

The featured speakers at both ceremonies served in the Cape Girardeau-based 1140th Engineer Battalion, which was deployed in Iraq for a year to patrol and clear roadside bombs from a main supply route.

Maj. Ed Gargas of Dexter, Mo., said the American military has had major successes in battling insurgents in Iraq.

Gargas said all 476 members of the National Guard battalion returned safely home after a year of duty that included everything from repairing and guarding a major highway to capturing 90 criminals wanted on charges ranging from theft to murder.

When terrorists damaged bridges, the 1140th Engineer Battalion repaired them.

Gargas said battalion members also trained more than 800 Iraqis to serve in that country's new national guard.

"We were kind of the engineer battalion that set the standard in Iraq," he said.

The battalion, through the assistance of churches back home, also distributed more than 500 pairs of shoes and more than 600 soccer balls. Troops also delivered school supplies, Gargas said.

"In one year, we accomplished so much good," he told the crowd.

For Vietnam veteran and Cape Girardeau County auditor David Ludwig of Jackson, Monday's local ceremonies and the public outpouring of patriotism seemed in marked contrast to his return home from the Navy in 1972.

Ludwig, who served in Naval Intelligence, remembers being told to wear civilian clothes when he arrived in San Francisco after a 15-month tour of duty. Back then, he said, there was no applause for returning soldiers. Many Americans openly opposed the war.

"We had no support at home," he recalled.

Ludwig said he's glad that isn't the case with troops returning now from the war in Iraq.

For Ludwig, Memorial Day is a special holiday to recognize the sacrifices made throughout the nation's history by those in uniform. Without such sacrifice, there wouldn't be a nation or any national holiday, he said.

At the Cape Girardeau ceremony, Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Toeniskoetter, a full-time employee of the Army National Guard who is serving with the 1140th Engineer Battalion, said he was glad that all the soldiers in the battalion survived their tour of duty. "We were blessed to return home with all alive."

But he said others have died in the war in Iraq, including an Iowa man who was a member of another National Guard engineering unit.

"Do not let the memories die," he said. "Do not let that fade away. Always remember."

mbliss@semissourian.com

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