The cost of freedom
Service at National Cemetery honors fallen soldiers
A light rain stopped and the sun peeked out as hundreds gathered at the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies in Cecil Township on Sunday morning for the annual Veterans Day ceremony to honor U.S. servicemen and women who died while serving in the military.
“Memorial Day invites all Americans to pause, remember, and pay tribute to all the men and women who gave their lives in service to our nation,” said Darlene Mathis, Director of the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies. “It is a solemn reminder that every freedom we enjoy was purchased at a tremendous cost.”
The event, marked by the solemn sounds of bagpipes and the playing of “Taps,” the invocation, and remarks from officials and veterans, drew Jim and Chris Fike of Trafford, whose son, Sgt. 1st Class Robert “Bob” Fike, was killed by a suicide bomber in Zabul, Afghanistan, on June 11, 2010, while serving with the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. He was 38.
It is the 16th year the Fikes have attended, and for 15 of those years – including this one – they have met John Scavitto of Gettysburg, who served with their son in the National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 110th Infantry Regiment in Afghanistan, at their son’s grave marker.
“It’s so special when you come down here and you see all the people because they’re here to honor people like my son,” said Jim Fike, a Vietnam War veteran.
Scavitto, who attended the ceremony with his wife, Selene, and their children, Gabbi and Nick, remembered Fike as “an amazing leader.”
“He was a great leader, and a lot of fun. Everybody enjoyed being with him,” said Scavitto, recalling how Fike arranged for him to be home in time for Gabbi’s birth after his pass initially was denied due to a paperwork issue.
“He stayed up all night, made a bunch of phone calls and worked with leadership, and he woke me up at 4 or 5 o’clock and said, ‘Hey, your pass is approved; you can go home,'” said Scavitto, who still feels the loss of Fike and Sgt. Bryan Hoover, 29, who was killed with Fike. “It’s been 16 years, and to me it feels like the world has moved on, and it’s still really real for me. Being able to bring my family out here and share this, and share stories and meet Sgt. Fike’s family, it’s been very meaningful. If anything good can come out of a tragedy, it’s the relationships we’ve been able to form over the years. It’s about making the best of what we’ve been given.”
Melissa Myers attends the ceremony annually with her mother, Mary Ellen Myers, and the pair pay respects to her father and Myers’ husband, William Myers, an Army veteran who served as an Airborne Ranger during the Korean Conflict and later, for 40 years, as a detective with the Pittsburgh Police. He died on April 26, 2018.
“I’m very proud of my dad, I’m proud to be his daughter. It’s an honor to come out here and recognize what he did during his time on this Earth,” said Myers. “It’s an honor to recognize all who served.”
Throughout the hour-long ceremony, speakers reminded visitors – who sat on folded chairs, stood, or sat on blankets on the lawn – that the occasion was to acknowledge everyone who fought and died for freedom.
Keynote speaker Joshua DeLeon, Executive Director of the National Cemetery Association Midwest District and incoming Principal Deputy Undersecretary for Memorial Affairs, said Sunday’s ceremony is especially meaningful as the nation approaches its 250th anniversary.
“The American story has always been written by those willing to stand in defense of freedom,” said DeLeon, who shared the stories of three soldiers who fought in the American Revolution. “Time and again over 250 years, American patriots have been there to protect freedom and our way of life. In truth, the fight for freedom never truly ends. If our nation is to survive for another 250 years, we will need the same caliber of brave service members who have laid everything on the line to keep our country strong.”
He also acknowledged the sacrifice of Gold Star families.
“As we honor all who gave their lives in service, we must especially remember the Gold Star families, who carry the weight of loss every day. We owe them recognition, care and support, and the promise that their loved ones will never be forgotten,” said DeLeon.
Before the ceremony, Erik and Emily Fargo of Peters Township brought their sons, ages 6, 3, and 3 weeks, to pay their respects to fallen soldiers.
“We want to teach them how important it is to honor our servicemen and women, and to remember the sacrifice that soldiers make,” said Erik Fargo.
The Fargos visited the gravesite of U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Ryan H. Lane, who was killed in action in Afghanistan on July 23, 2009, at age 25. Even though they didn’t know the fallen soldier, the family wanted to pay tribute to him.
Lane’s headstone sits 10 rows behind Fike’s headstone, and Chris Fike has struck up a close friendship with Lane’s mother, Kathleen Hanley – a fellow Gold Star Mother – of Baldwin.
Jim Fike noted that his son’s birthday – July 23 – is the same date that Lane died.
Also on Sunday, in Rices Landing, Greene County, a much smaller ceremony, hosted by the Brooks-Crago American Legion Post 816, was held at the memorial garden adjacent to Hewitt Presbyterian Church.
Ret. U.S. Army Col. Ros L. Gammon IV of Brownsville, recalled his deployment to Ramadi, Iraq in 2005 and 2006, where he served as Brigade Operations Officer for the Pennsylvania Army National Guard’s 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 28th Infantry Division, and was responsible for planning and coordinating operations.
“I carry the memories of that deployment with me every single day,” said Gammon.
Gammon paid tribute to three soldiers from the “Iron Brigade” who died during that 2005-26 deployment.
“Their names and faces stay with me. The price our brigade paid – over 80 fallen warriors during the deployment – was tremendous. Yet their courage helped change the trajectory of the fight in Al Anbar Province,” said Gammon. “It helped create the conditions that later forces built on. They proved once again the Pennsylvania National Guard soldiers are ready when our nation needs us the most. To the Gold Star families, if there are any today, and to all families who have lost loved ones, I want you to know that your husbands and wives, sons and daughters, fathers and mothers, are not forgotten. As someone who served alongside so many of them, I grieve with you and honor their memory. To our veterans who came home, some with visible wounds, many with invisible ones, thank you for your service.”
He encouraged everyone to “live lives worthy of (fallen soldiers’) sacrifice.”
Ed DeBolt of American Legion Post 816 read the John McCrea poem “In Flanders Fields,” which refers to a major battle site on the Western Front during World War I, where about a million soldiers from 50 countries were wounded, missing or killed from 1914 to 1918.
As a result of the poem, poppies became a symbol of remembrance for fallen soldiers.