Breazeale at Freedom Park Ceremony

Hundreds celebrate true meaning of Memorial Day

By Drew BrooksStaff writer
Don Talbot recognizes that others may not hold the same high esteem for Memorial Day that he does.

The master of ceremonies Monday for the annual ceremony at Freedom Memorial Park knows much of the country sees the holiday as a day for the mall or the beach.
But for Talbot and the hundreds that gathered at the park in downtown Fayetteville, the day is still about remembering what others gave for our freedoms.
“There are too many people in this country that don’t understand that,” Talbot said while standing among the stone monuments dedicated to the region’s veterans.
Army Reserve Maj. William Breazeale, the event’s keynote speaker, had a similar message.
The three-war veteran with more than 18 years of military experience has served during operations Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.
Breazeale heaped praise upon the veterans in attendance and those being honored for sacrificing their lives for their country, but added a somber message: they would not be the last needed to serve their country.
“We do live in an imperfect world,” he said. “Wars will always go on.”
On his latest tour of duty, Breazeale lost three of his friends.
“The hardest thing to do in life is to say goodbye to someone you love,” he said. “If you know someone who has died in a war, Memorial Day is not one time a year. Memorial Day is every day.
But Breazeale did not feel that death should discourage anyone from serving his country.
“I know it’s OK to hire someone to clean your house or mow your lawn,” he said. “But I don’t think it’s right to have someone fight for your freedom if you can do it yourself.”