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To our fallen, we remember you; we salute you; we honor you

Editor’s note: This past Memorial Day, Association the attacking Viet Cong as they attempted to overrun his
Member Col Jay Adsit, USAF retired, addressed citizens position. When he was surrounded and out of
in Dryden, MI. It was well received and deserves to be ammunition, his enemies offered him an opportunity to
shared. surrender. Instead, he charged his captors and used his
empty rifle as a club to continue to fight. He died that
By Jay Adsit day, on Jan 18, 1968; he was 22 years old. The Holland
Memorial Day for our country grew from a tradition MI newspaper, the "Sentinel," published his reply to
that started a little after the Civil War. People honored Kitty Teller on Feb 3, two weeks after Sgt Yntema died.
the Civil War fallen by decorating their graves with His letter sums up his feelings regarding the meaning of
flowers…to remember them. Until the early 1950s people freedom and why some people are willing to fight and die
called this day Decoration Day, which had already so that others can be afforded the opportunity to make
expanded to include the fallen from all our country's the kinds of choices we take for granted. He wrote,
wars. "Freedom is not an easy thing to gain. Once you have
fought for it and won it, you must continue to fight to
It is a day of reflection, of remembrance, of honoring the
nearly 1.2 million service members who died fighting for keep it. One must never take it for granted. Each person
our country's independence and to keep our country free. on earth is entitled to it."
We say thank you to the brave men and women who On Nov 18, 1969, in a White House ceremony, Peggy
have made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom, who Yntema, his widow, accepted the Congressional Medal of
gave their last full measure of devotion…to our Country. Honor, this country's highest award for valor, for her
We remember those heroes who courageously gave their husband's actions during that battle. Sgt Yntema and his
lives for something much bigger wife had two daughters, Elizabeth, 4,
than themselves. Through their and Jane, 2. We remember.
sacrifice, we live free. We Sgt Yntema's example of selflessness,
remember. valor, and determination are typical of
I offer one example of bravery, the fallen service members we honor
honor, selflessness. It is that of Sgt today.
Gordon "Ike" Yntema, US Army. Ike The bugle call we know as Taps can be
was born in Bethesda, MD in 1945. heard at the end of the day at each
He and his family moved to base, post, camp, or station. It has 24
Holland, Michigan, in September notes; some have put words to those
1946. He graduated from high school in 1963 and by that notes. Before I read you those words, try to imagine this
July he had enlisted in the Army. He trained as a coming not at the end of the day…but at the end of a life.
parachutist, Green Beret, and Special Forces. He arrived Every service member has a memory of when he or she
in Vietnam on Oct 8, 1967, and was assigned to the 5th first heard Taps…for a fallen teammate…or brother or
sister…and, yet, they will not hear it the last time it's
Special Forces Group, Company D and detachment A-431 played for them.
at a camp near Cai Cai in the Kien Phong province, May each one of us take inspiration from the patriotism
about a mile from the border with Cambodia in far south of the brave soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and Coast
Vietnam. Most often the duties of green berets were to Guard members who died for our country. May what we
work with host country militia, help train their leaders, do and how we live be worthy of their sacrifices. We
to organize these forces into combat units. In December remember.
Sgt Yntema received a letter from a 13-year old named If our fallen could tell us what they wish for, I imagine
Kitty Teller from his hometown of Holland. She asked they would tell us, take care of my family, take care of
him some questions; he mailed her his reply on the first our country, and, lastly, to always remember them.
day of 1968. We'll come back to his reply in a little bit. Gen George S. Patton gave us good advice about our
On Jan 16, 1968, he was on patrol near Thong Binh fallen, "It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men and
with two platoons of South Vietnamese irregular forces women who died. Rather we should thank God such
when they engaged in a heavy firefight with a much people lived."
larger Viet Cong force. After his group's Vietnamese In the end, we will not remember the words of our
commander was seriously wounded, Sgt Yntema led the
force for the remainder of the multi-day battle. As adversary, but the silence of our friends. To our fallen,
we remember you; we salute you; we honor you. May God
ammunition dwindled and losses mounted, his force was
pinned down on three sides. Under intense machine gun bless our fallen; may they rest in peace; may God bless
our service members past and present, may He give them
fire, he carried the wounded Vietnamese commander and
his mortally wounded teammate 50 meters to a small courage when they need it; strength when they need it;
hope when they need it; and faith, always; may God bless
gully that afforded some protection from enemy fire, then
returned to his position. Sgt Yntema continued to fight our United States of America. We remember.

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