The mother of a soldier killed in action sat in the front row Monday morning at the state Memorial Day ceremony, which drew hundreds to the Arkansas State Veterans Cemetery in North Little Rock.
Fran Marshall of Little Rock, flanked on each side by other families of fallen service members, has attended the ceremony each year since her son was killed in Iraq in 2007. Sgt. Bradley Marshall, 37, of Bryant died of wounds suffered from enemy indirect fire.
A picture of Bradley Marshall in his U.S. Army dress uniform was encased in a pendant that hung around Fran Marshall's neck, and pinned to her shirt was a button with a photo of him in fatigues.
She said her son had been in the Army in the 1990s and was honorably discharged. He started a life in Bryant and had a job, home, wife and two sons. And then, after 9/11, he decided to re-enlist.
"That's all he talked about, was going back in," Fran Marshall said. "We tried to talk him out of it, but finally, he went back."
"He was a good Christian man," she continued.
Monday's ceremony was organized by the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs and included a two-bell service, a firing detail and remembrance for prisoners of war and those missing in action, as well as a speech by Gov. Asa Hutchinson.
The crowd of people, most wearing red, white and blue, was surrounded on three sides by rows of uniform headstones, each with a small American flag at its side. At points, the ceremony was silent and reflective, and some attendees wiped away tears.
Hutchinson talked about Maurice "Footsie" Britt, a World War II veteran from Carlisle who earned the U.S. military's three highest decorations: the Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross and the Silver Star. Britt, later elected lieutenant governor, died 20 years ago at age 76.
Using Britt as an example, Hutchinson said those who are willing to sacrifice for their country are found "in the Carlisles and Lonokes, in the small towns of Arkansas and across America."
"By the grace of God, we find them at the house next door, at the grocery store, at the ballgame," Hutchinson said. "We find them sitting in the desk beside us as we work. We find them picking up their kids from school. We find them every day and in every walk of American life, and we are forever in their debt."
Hutchinson added that the state and he country should thank veterans and service members by providing them with their earned health care and other benefits.
Also during the ceremony, Beatrice Moore, an honorary consul of France in Little Rock, declared WWII veteran Harold Kindrick a knight in the French Order of the Legion of Honor.
The French order, France's highest distinction, was established in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte to honor military and civilian service to the country. In 2004, 60 years after U.S. troops invaded Normandy, the award was made available to living Americans who helped liberate France during WWII.
"We French will never forget what you did to restore our freedom. It's our duty to remember," Moore said. "Today is your day to receive a well-deserved recognition from France."
Kindrick, 91, of North Little Rock enlisted in the Army in 1942 and was honorably discharged after the war in 1945.
Kindrick was a crew chief on a C-47 Skytrain assigned to the 437th Troop Carrier Group, said Sgt. Maj. John Doss, with the Arkansas Army National Guard. Kindrick participated in the invasion of Normandy on D-Day, and his group accepted the surrender of a German army group the day before Victory in Europe Day.
Moore pinned a medal to Kindrick's suit jacket. When the ceremony ended, dozens of people grouped around him and his wife, Melvalea. They waited in line to shake his hand and snap a photo with him.
"He's like a rock star," said his grandson, Chris Kindrick, who was documenting the day.
Attendees also approached Fran Marshall and other families of deceased service members to offer hugs and their condolences.
Marshall talked about her son, his outgoing personality, his many friends and his call to duty.
"He loved his country," she said.
Metro on 05/26/2015