Memorial Day ceremonies went on with smaller gatherings this due to the coronavirus pandemic. A small group of Vietnam War Veterans made sure those who paid the ultimate price for freedom were remembered on Monday.
Army Veteran Dan Kutilek has been awarded the Silver Star and a Purple Heart while defending our country. He wanted to make sure there was a ceremony at Memorial Park to honor those who died fighting for our country.
“I was fortunate. I was injured. It could have been a fatality very easily. For whatever reason, God looked out after me -- I feel I owe God and my brothers at least my attention every Memorial Day,” Kutilek told 6 News.
Omaha attorney and Vietnam Veteran James Martin Davis organized the wreath laying ceremony. He wanted to make sure the veterans were remembered.
“That’s what we want people to understand without regard to COVID, without regard to the fact that they can't go to the beach or picnic. You got to remember that’s what the whole day is about. Is remembering these people who fought, were killed and remember their families that have that gaping hole in their heart that can never be filled,” Davis told 6 News.
For Davis and some of the others who gathered the ceremony is personal and the names on the Memorial Park monument represent people they knew.
“They were talented people. Smart people, they had their whole lives ahead of them -- who knows what they would have ended up being. They would have been successful, I know that,” Davis says.
A recording and a smartphone replaced the soldier who would normally end the Memorial Day ceremony at the park with the playing of “Taps.”
“Being that it was so solemn and just a handful of brothers -- it’s special. I won’t forget this one as long as I live,” Davis says.
Other traditional Memorial Day events were canceled Monday, including formal ceremonies at the Omaha National cemetery. But that didn’t stop loved ones from showing up and honoring their heroes.