DOBBINS HEIGHTS — A group of veterans and other community members gathered Monday morning at the Community Center to remember those lost on the fields — and seas — of battle.
The service, usually held outside near the flagpole, was moved inside because of the weather and a memorial wreath was in the center of the floor between the speakers and the audience.
The guest speaker for this year’s service was the Rev. David M. Gadsden, who retired from the U.S. Marine Corps as a master sergeant.
Gadsden said one of his mottos is: “I am going to be the best at it.”
He recalled sitting in a chapel and hearing the preacher say, “You must be born again.”
Gadsden went on to say that society has “failed to protect our children.”
“Parents can’t party with your children in the club and then expect them to listen to you at home,” he said, adding that one must put on the whole armor of God to survive, quoting the Book of Ephesians.
“You need God to help you change your life, because God gives us mercy which pours out unto grace which protects you from the enemy’s wickedness,” he concluded.
In the audience was Clyde Bass, who spent three years in the 1st Marine Division during the Vietnam War. Bass says one of the hardest things he went through was keeping himself alive. One of the best things that he learned while being in the Corps was discipline.
Joe Young, a Navy veteran who served from 1967-69, said one of the hardest things that he went through was the typhoon, and the best thing that he experienced was meeting new people and traveling.
Dobbins Heights Town Clerk Regina Hamilton and Mayor Antonio Blue both served in the Army.
Hamilton said that the hardest things for her was going through basic training, and the best thing she learned was to not give up.
One of the reasons she went in the military was because she would have a better life than living at home and would accomplish more. She said she is delighted that she went in the military, because it opened doors for her.
Originally from Wadesboro, Hamilton was last year’s guest speaker.