TAYLORSVILLE — Jay Hess might have spent his Saturday morning pulling weeds or, as he put it, "envying the people driving by with their boats."
Instead he went to a gathering by the Jordan River. And as part of the group dwarfed by an enormous American flag, Hess personified gratitude.
For 5 1/2 years, Air Force Lt. Col. Hess was held in Vietnamese prisons, from Hanoi to Dogpatch. He spent the late 1960s and early '70s in those sweltering camps, reflecting on what it meant to serve in the armed forces. It meant sacrifice and pain, and it meant stepping up, in spite of fear, to fight for freedom.
Hess recalled the 2,400 men who plowed across a river of ice, after Gen. George Washington urged them to fight for America's independence. The soldiers who set out to cross the Delaware on Christmas Eve 1776 still inspire Hess' pride in his country. "In my school days, this stuff sailed right by me," he said. But after his plane was shot down in north Vietnam and he was imprisoned, he had time to think back over those history lessons.
Today, more than 30 years after his release from Vietnam, Hess' gratitude is clear as he repeats what he said when he stepped off the jet that brought him back to the States: "Hi everyone. You can't believe how good it feels to be home."
Then Hess told Utahns how to salute those who didn't make it home: Take care of your own communities. Those who fought and died in American wars did it out of hope for our future, Hess said. They wanted us to "make the best of our country. You would honor them by being happy, by being productive, by being good citizens."
Standing at the Bridgeside Park Freedom Shrine, Hess spoke to about 25 Taylorsville Exchange Club members and supporters of the toll taken by 12 American wars. One in six Confederate soldiers, a total of 133,321 men, died during the Civil War. World War II killed 405,000. Another 36,000 died in the snowy mountains of Korea; 58,203 Americans were killed in the Vietnam War that started 11 years later. In the Gulf War of 1990-91, 382 American soldiers died, and most recently Operation Iraqi Freedom killed 133 members of the U.S.-led allied forces.
Hess paused at the end of the litany. His voice stayed steady, but he spoke slowly. "Almost weeping, yet marveling at the nobleness, I pay tribute to those who served."
Exchange Club member Bob Bedont hoped Hess' speech inspired the audience to create peace at home. "Few of us will be called on to make the ultimate sacrifice. But each of us has an opportunity almost daily" to help someone in our own neighborhoods and workplaces.
Local composer John Canaan sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the start of the Bridgeside Park service, and then offered a song he had written for Memorial Day. "If Not Love" was "dedicated to those who have left us, in service, and to those who stay in service." "What will your life stand for," Canaan sang as the wind lifted the American and state flags around him. "If not love, what else ? If not compassion, what else could matter?"
Connie Steadman Tamey, of Taylorsville, would not have missed Saturday's event, even if the weather was stifling hot, and the raising of the flag made her cry. She stroked her daughter's hair as she listened to the speeches and music. "I enjoy being here. I feel the spirit of the day," said Tamey, 59. She had already taken a picture and flowers to the grave of her uncle, Mead Steadman. He died in France in 1943, an Army master sergeant who fought for the Allies in World War II. Tamey added that she brought her daughter, Tiffany Furner of St. George, to the pre-Memorial Day service so that she could "carry on that respect."
E-mail: durbani@desnews.com