On Monday morning, under gray skies in downtown Eatonton, veterans, families, and community members gathered at Putnam County Wall of Honor Park to honor local service members who never returned home.
The annual Memorial Day ceremony featured remarks from U.S. Army Sgt. Rudy Hicks, a Vietnam veteran who urged attendees to reflect on both the sacrifices made by America’s military and the responsibilities carried by those still living.
Hicks opened his address by recalling the words of famed war correspondent Ernie Pyle, who described the Allied invasion of Normandy during World War II as “darkness enveloped the whole American armada” as thousands of young U.S. soldiers moved forward toward an uncertain future.
“For Americans, these words paint a picture of the fear and confusion surrounding soldiers,” Hicks said. “Yet they also impart the sense of determination these young men must have felt.”
He noted that Pyle was later killed while covering combat in the Pacific during World War II, adding that Memorial Day serves as a reminder that the nation’s freedoms come at a continuing cost.
“This is what Memorial Day symbolizes,” Hicks told about 60 attendees. “One day each year we acknowledge the debt that we owe to those men and women who, because they so cherished peace, chose to live as warriors.”
Throughout his remarks, Hicks emphasized that military service is rooted not in a love of war, but in a defense of freedom.
“We fight because we believe,” he said. “Not that war is good, but that sometimes it’s necessary.”
He later quoted 19th-century philosopher John Stuart Mill, saying, “War is an ugly thing, but it’s not the ugliest of things,” before adding that freedom survives only when people are willing to defend it.
Hicks also reflected on the story of Shammah from the Old Testament book of Second Samuel, describing how a biblical warrior defended a field of lentils against invading Philistines after others had fled.
“It wasn’t so much about the hill of beans, but what that little piece of ground represented,” Hicks said. “Sometimes you have to take a stand, even if you have to do it alone.”
Drawing parallels to modern conflicts and threats to liberty, Hicks warned that freedom can erode quickly when people fail to defend it. He said Memorial Day is not only a time of remembrance, but also of vigilance.
“The preservation of this great nation is in our hands,” he said.
One of the most solemn moments of the ceremony came as Hicks read the names engraved on Eatonton’s Wall of Honor — Putnam County residents who died in military service. As attendees stood quietly, he paused intermittently as he read dozens of names.
“There have been millions who wrote a blank check to America up to and including their lives,” Hicks said. “Only fools would forget or allow such an expensive lesson to be forgotten.”
He concluded by reciting a rarely heard final verse of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” encouraging attendees to honor the American flag and the freedoms it represents.
“Salute it, honor it, and cherish the freedom and liberty it represents,” Hicks said. “May God bless you all, and may God continue to bless the United States of America.”