Purple Heart monument honors 'those who shed blood for our country'

CEDAR RAPIDS — Retired U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Steve Feldmann couldn't sleep.

Scheduled to give an address during a Memorial Day ceremony in Cedar Rapids, Feldmann said the faces of his fellow soldiers killed in combat filled his head the night before. A veteran of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Feldmann said he could see the love of life in their eyes, hear their voices and recall each of their silly jokes and gestures.

He awoke to write down some of the words he'd deliver during Monday's observance at All Veterans Memorial Park.

Tears welled up in his eyes as he again realized he would never see his fellow soldiers again; he would never see them grow old.

'From the beginning, soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen have made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms and our way of life,' said Feldmann. 'We stand here today to pay tribute to those brave citizens that paid with their lives, so we may keep those freedoms.

'Our freedoms and liberties are preserved with their blood, as they died to defend them.'

Feldmann's remarks fell on the ears of more than 200 people in attendance for the Memorial Day ceremony, which also included the dedication of the new Eastern Iowa Purple Heart Monument. More than 20 Purple Heart recipients were on hand for the event.

'I think it's such an honor to have one,' said John Talley, who earned a Purple Heart after being wounded by shrapnel from a land mine explosion during Vietnam.

'I think it's a wonderful honor because we've never had anything before,' added John Sackett, who served in World War II and was awarded three Purple Hearts during the Korean War. 'It's a focal point for those who shed blood for our country.'

The Purple Heart was established by George Washington in 1782 and honors soldiers killed or wounded in action.

The idea for the monument came from Barry Adams, a two-time Purple Heart recipient, when the Jefferson High School Class of 1966 reunion committee was looking for a community service project last July. Outside of his own Purple Heart awards, the idea for the monument is special to him because of his neighbor, Nancy Clark, whose son, Steve Clark, was killed in 1990 during Operation Desert Storm in Iraq.

'This is for the past, present and future Purple Heart recipients,' said Adams.

Nancy Clark, who attended Monday's ceremony wearing her son's Purple Heart, said the new monument means a lot to her family.

'It brings back a lot of memories of when I lost my 22-year-old son,' she said.

Bill Lahman served on the 1966 reunion committee with Adams and said when the idea was proposed, the group immediately said 'that's it' and got to work raising $25,000 for the project. Donations are still being collected online at www.easterniowapurpleheartmonument.com.

Lahman, who is not a veteran, said the monument is the least he could do to honor those who did serve and sacrifice so much. He noted one such person — Terry Randall, another member of the Jefferson High Class of 1966, who was killed in Vietnam.

Prior to monument being installed on May 4, Lahman said he was at All Veterans Memorial Park where a member of the grounds crew was arranging memorial bricks. The man asked Lahman how he could fix the pattern of bricks to make it look more symmetrical. When Lahman looked down, there was a brick placed in memory of Randall.

It was in that moment, he realized exactly why he and others had worked so hard to make the Purple Heart monument a reality.

Randall's brick now lies at the base of the monument.

'Those things are under the direction of the Lord and He puts those things in front of you when you need to do them; and thank God we did this for Terry.'

Lahman said dedicating the Purple Heart monument as part of the Memorial Day observance is fitting.

'Memorial Day is the one day a year we honor the fallen soldiers, so this was the perfect time to do it,' he said.

'You can't give any more than your life.'