American Veterans Post 2 marks Memorial Day
David C. Dolby Sussex American Veterans Post 2 observed Memorial Day May 29 by recognizing Americans who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
Post 2 Commander Dave Heffline said America is fortunate to rely on its citizens who willingly serve, fight and die for their country.
“This Memorial Day, we honor all those ordinary people who are sent into the extraordinary, picking up the tools of war in the name of freedom,” Heffline said. “Some died in combat, others from wounds afterwards, still others after a time of living in peace they fought so hard to win.”
Sons Squadron AMVETS Post 2 Commander Les Paulson said Memorial Day is a day for both grief and celebration as Americans reflect on the tragic loss of life and recount the courageousness of veterans’ service.
Everyone should strive to honor their memory by being good and faithful, hopeful and strong, and committed to building a brighter future for all, Paulson said.
Featured speaker and Air Force veteran Rep. Jeff Hilovsky, R-Long Neck, said that his father, Sgt. Paul Hilovsky, was a World War II paratrooper and pathfinder who rarely discussed his wartime experiences and died in 2007.
In 2020, Jeff said, his family learned from a friend that Paul and his unit liberated a Nazi death camp May 2, 1945.
“Much to their surprise and abject horror, my dad and his unit found an unimaginable 3,500 living and dying Jewish innocents,” Jeff said. “There were over 1,000 dead bodies piled, dehumanized, piled up like cordwood in sheds and buildings throughout the camp in various stages of decay.”
His father and his friends were hardened combat veterans, Jeff said, but no one prepared them for this type of duty. Those brave soldiers fought against tyranny, Jeff said, and people today should remember to celebrate their sacrifices and never forget those who died.
