Tributes to two fallen V.I. soldiers provided the backdrop Monday morning for a somber but inspiring Memorial Day service on St. Thomas, where speakers used the loss of their loved ones to promote peace and tolerance, and to offer support.
This year’s keynote speaker, retired U.S. Army Master Sergeant Cynthia VanBeverhoudt, spoke openly about the loss of her brother, Clarence, the first Virgin Islander to fall in the Vietnam War. No matter how much time has passed, or sympathy expressed, VanBeverhoudt said the pain of the loss is still strong.
“In the month of May, it is always fitting to pause and reflect on the men and women who bravely risked their lives in the face of grave danger,” she said. “We remember those who left the comfort of their homes to fight for us and our freedom, but never returned to trade the titles of solider, sailor, airman or Marine for veteran.”
Looking back the life of her brother, VanBeverhoudt reflected on the “calling” each solider answers when he or she picks up the mantle of service.
Some volunteer, some are told, but each lives their lives with dignity and pride to become heroes fighting for a cause, VanBeverhoudt said.
The significance of those traits should not be forgotten she added.
“Our military grows stronger and larger, but we must continue to strive to be a beacon of peace for safeguarding our fundamental rights of freedom, religion, race and gender in our society and in the world,” VanBeverhoudt said. “We must display courage, empathy, compassion, understanding and pride and not be afraid to stand up for the thoughts of the weak, poor and uneducated. As a nation, we must be bold but respectful, challenging yet courageous, and we must be willing to be fair.”
Similar thoughts were shared Monday by Army Sergeant First Class Ann Swan, who spoke about having to deliver the news of a death on the battlefield to the mother of a young solider. The name of Staff Sergeant Lyle Turnbull was recently etched on the U.S. Army pillar near the entrance of the park, and in attendance Monday was Turnbull’s mother, Lalita Francis, who dabbed at her eyes as Swan spoke.
The date was October 8, 2013, and Turnbull was 31 years old. Swan, who had to pause as the sound of church bells ringing near the park signaled 11 a.m., said she received a call about his death in Kuwait while she was driving her 11 year-old son to school. Since no one was able to reach Turnbull’s wife in Texas, Swan was told to notify his mother – the hardest thing she said she has ever had to do in her 28 years of service.
“Once a message is received from the Casualty and Mortuary Affairs branch, notification must be made within four hours,” Swan said. “At the end of the call, I looked in the rearview mirror at my son in the back seat and fought to keep my emotions in check. I imagined myself in this mother’s position, and I couldn’t fathom the thought.”
While Swan said she knew she was about to change “this mother’s life forever,” she also never imagined the bond that would grow between herself and Turnbull’s family. Francis, meanwhile, has kept her son’s memory alive through the formation of the Gold Star program, a non-profit organization of military mothers who have also lost their sons and daughters. Along with supporting one another, the group also reaches out to other families and helps them rebuild.
“Through such an unfortunate ordeal, an unconditional bond was created almost immediately between Mrs. Francis and I,” Swan said. “I now have a second mother.”
