Brothers & Sisters, May 26, 2025

I had the great honor of being asked to give the memorial address at Dayton National Cemetery this year. I decided that speech should be used as my Memorial Day Message to the members. This speech was written with many of the men in my life who have served our country bravely…

Good Afternoon Brothers, Sisters and guests.

It is both an honor and a profound responsibility to stand before you today on this sacred ground at Dayton National Cemetery—where thousands of heroes found their eternal rest.

On this Day, we gather not just as Odd Fellows and Rebekah’s, but as Americans,  as good stewards of memory. We are here to remember, to reflect, and to recommit ourselves to the values for which so many gave their lives.

Among these thousands of simple headstones lie men and women from every branch of service, from every corner of our nation, from every conflict since the Civil War. This cemetery, founded in 1867, is more than a final resting place. It is a living monument to courage, sacrifice, and the enduring spirit of service & dedication.

In two days we as a country will observe Memorial Day.  Some will attend memorial services, some will stand as an honor guard passes by in a local parade.  Some will gather with family and friends at a picnic and some will place flowers and flags on relatives graves.
Regardless of how you observe this holiday, let us keep in mind it is not a celebration—it is a commemoration.
It asks us to pause. To put aside the noise of daily life. To remember that the freedom we enjoy was  $ bought at the highest price.
Every name etched in stone here… represents a life of purpose, a family left behind, and a story of devotion that must never be forgotten.

Let us not take lightly the meaning of this day.

Let us think of the young soldier who stormed a beach, knowing he might not return. The medic who tended to the wounded while bullets screamed past them and bombs exploded around them. The pilot who never made it home.
The sailor who bravely stood his post through the storm. And the modern-day warrior who deployed .. again and again .. shouldering a burden few of us can fully grasp.

They did not ask for fame. They did not seek fortune. They believed in something greater than themselves—the ideals of liberty, justice, and the enduring promise of America. Not all .. who is buried in these quite, hallowed rows of stone perished in battle. But each of them gave of themselves so that our lives of freedom can be passed on from generation to generation. 
Those men and women whose journey brought them back from battle are also honored .. as they most certainly sustained losses of their own. 

Thousands upon thousand faced loss of limbs, hearing and sight. Some suffered an inability to assimilate back to civilian life, their minds traumatized by the most horrific sights of carnage that most of us could not even begin to imagine.  Alcoholism and drug addiction commonly suffered as a result of a means to silence the screams of a mind that cannot forget what they had to do to stay alive.  
They watched their friends and comrades suffer and die in ways that are beyond explanation.  They too we remember as they have earned the privilege and the right to be buried here among their brothers and sisters in the undying fraternity of patriotism and heroism.

We know that behind every act of valor is a family .. whose grief never truly ends. To those families—those Gold Star families—we say:
Your loved ones are not forgotten. Their sacrifice echoes in every flag we raise, in every pledge of allegiance we recite, and every step we take toward a more just and peaceful world.

And so today, we do more than lay wreaths, flowers and flags. We make a vow.

We vow to live lives of purpose, of principle, and of peace. We vow to live lives worthy of their sacrifice.

And as Odd Fellows and Rebekah’s we vow to serve our communities with honor. To bond with our fellow man in FRIENDSHIP,  show LOVE to each other through our words and deeds,  and to speak the TRUTH… and defend it when it is challenged. 
We practice these principles to promote and elevate mankind to a place of peace and perpetual understanding

So today, before we leave these hallowed grounds, I challenge each and every one of you to stop anywhere in the cemetery, pull out your phone and take a picture of one grave. 

When you return home and todays event become a memory and you say your prayers, say this persons name in remembrance, and thank him or her for the sacrifices they made for you. This person may not have a living soul left to remember his bravery or her honor, make it your personal and private project to keep this souls memory eternal.

As I bring this address to a close, I thank you all for taking the time out of your busy lives to come together as brothers and sisters do, to pay tribute to something more important than ourselves.  It is both our duty and our joy to honor all those who protect and serve our American way of life. 

Thank you.

Yours In F-L-T,

Roger Parson, Grand Master