Members of the American Legion were joined by the local community at the Dublin Public Library Veterans Memorial Monday morning for a Memorial Day ceremony that feature the retirement and replacement of the flag, a prayer and the playing of “Taps.”
Vice Commander Ray Rollins also read a special address from the American Legion, which read:
Thirty years ago, America engaged in a new war in a volatile region. Iraq had invaded the sovereign nation of Kuwait.
It was an act of aggression that could not stand. The United States led a coalition of 35 nations with a bold and clear mission to liberate an occupied country.
Among the half million U.S. troops deployed to the middle east was Army Specialist Cindy Beaudoin (pronounced bode win). A freshman at the University of Connecticut, Specialist Beaudoin enlisted in the National Guard and served as a medic with the 142nd Medical Company.
The Hartford Courant reported that the young specialist had a chronic back condition that could have kept her home during the deployment.
The daughter of a Vietnam veteran, Cindy would hear none of it. “Of course, I’m going, silly. I couldn’t let my best buddy go off alone,” she told a friend and fellow servicemember,
On February 28, 1991, just hours after President George H.W. Bush declared a ceasefire to end the Gulf War, Specialist Cindy Beaudoin was killed in action after her convoy struck a landmine. She was only 19.
Like many soldiers going to war, Specialist Beaudoin wrote a letter to be delivered to her parents in the event that she didn’t return...
Cindy Beaudoin did NOT die in vain. Neither did any other American who we honor on Memorial Day. Nonetheless, wars are often unpopular. There is a good reason for this....
That’s why we are here today... to honor the sacrifices made by the one million heroes who died while defending this country since the American Revolution...
Our organization, The American Legion, recognizes that when rounds are coming your way, there is no such thing as “a small war...”
We are here today to honor ALL of our fallen heroes.