Ed Perry, left, commander of American Legion Post 24 in Rumford, and Hal Watson, commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1641 in Rumford, prepare Monday to lay a wreath at the Memorial Green in Rumford. The Memorial Day observance included an address by George O’Keefe Jr. of Winthrop, who served two tours in Afghanistan and retired from the Army National Guard as a sergeant in 2017. He is economic development director for Rumford. Bruce Farrin/Rumford Falls Times

RUMFORD — Members of Napoleon Ouellette Post 24 of the American Legion observed Memorial Day with a parade and ceremonies at the Memorial Green in Rumford and the Veterans Memorial Green in Mexico.

People gathered on a misty morning to watch the parade from the Legion Hall at 184 Congress St., over Memorial Bridge to the Memorial Green. There, guest speaker George O’Keefe Jr. of Winthrop, who served two tours in Afghanistan and retired from the Army National Guard as a sergeant in 2017, talked about the sacrifice made to preserve freedom.

“On our memorial here, for those who gave their lives and service to our community, you might take a look at some of those names and notice some last names in common, some siblings, and many families who sacrifice more than others, in some cases,” he said. “Sacrifice is not evenly distributed. It’s a burden that some carry in a much deeper way than others do. But it is something that is given for all of us.”

O’Keefe, who is the economic development director for Rumford, recalled a wartime speech delivered to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom in August 1940 by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill: “‘Never was so much owed by so many to so few.’ That is true here and it is true for the very few names that are on our memorials which carry the burden of freedom for all of us.”

Military veteran George O’Keefe Jr. of Winthrop gives the keynote speech Monday at Memorial Day ceremonies at the Memorial Green in Rumford. Having served two tours in Afghanistan and retiring from the Army National Guard as a sergeant in 2017, he spoke about the sacrifices made by military personnel and their families. Bruce Farrin/Rumford Falls Times

O’Keefe said the name John Henry Ralph Brooks, who died in the Vietnam War on May 14, 1969, “is a name many of you may have never heard. But he died for us, serving in the Army when his helicopter got shot down in Vietnam as part of a mission to bring a small detachment of Republic of Korea soldiers, our allies, serving along side us, as part of combat mission.

“Those who die and those whose families survive them, including his sister, who is here with us today, their sacrifice is forever.” O’Keefe said. “For the survivors, it’s a sacrifice that they experience every day, for the rest of their lives.”

Another name he mentioned was Roy Tulane O’Keefe.

“My uncle, I never met him,” he said. “He died in Vietnam in February of 1968 during the Tet Offensive. His death devastated my father and his eight siblings surviving, and tore the family apart in ways that are still painful to this day.”

“I mention his name simply because I have the honor of speaking here today and the opportunity to mention a family member,” O’Keefe said. “But for others, the sacrifice is unnamed, their family member perhaps not always recalled, and their death is something that is only remembered by ceremonies such as this, which are very important because they remind of the sacrifice that others have made.”

“At least today, we remember all those who gave so much for us,” he said.

Members of the chorus at Mountain Valley High School in Rumford sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” on Monday during  the Memorial Day ceremony at the Memorial Green in Rumford. Bruce Farrin/Rumford Falls Times