WAPPAPELLO — Sept. 11, Patriot Day, will mark the 11th anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks.
Two area military families took time recently to speak on service and loss during events marking the Remembering Our Fallen exhibit at Wappapello. The national traveling memorial includes military and personal photos of over 5,000 of the nation’s Fallen from the War on Terror since 9/11/2001.
“We need to ensure that we teach our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren the importance of remembering. We need to teach them that the men and women who died for our nation are our heroes and are America’s finest,” said Bonnie Rae Lewis, a U.S. Army veteran who served in the Gulf War and Desert Storm.
Lewis spoke Saturday during an event hosted by the Wappapello Lake U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The exhibit at the Bill Emerson Memorial Visitor Center was open through Wednesday, Sept. 7.
She was joined at the event by Melodie Summers, a Gold Star mother to the late Eric Summers. Eric Summers died in November 2013 at Camp Pendleton, California.
Lewis reminded the public that servicemen and women protect the lands so citizens remain free, and they commit the ultimate selfless sacrifice to do so. She talked on the responsibility of being a citizen of the United States and remembering the 9/11 event 11 years ago.
She ended her speech with a visual of the families who must live without their loved ones.
Lewis said those who have lost a loved one in the military will forever carry them and only have the 18, 21, or even 35 years with them.
“There is no greater love than of a man who is willing to lay down his life for his friend,” she said.
Lewis was born into a military family. Her father, Larry Joe Lewis, was a in the Army, and a big influence to Lewis growing up.
Lewis said she was able to see the world being in a military family, and one important lesson she learned from her father was the “importance of service to our nation and our freedom.”
She then followed in her father’s footsteps and joined the Army.
Lewis explained she took the message her father gave to her as a young child and strives to continue that message throughout her time in the Army. She retired in 1999, after she had her son, Joshua, and started a new chapter in her life.
Today, Lewis continues to honor her brothers and sisters in the military and the nation.
Following Lewis’ speech, the Poplar Bluff JROTC did the roll call of the fallen while Clifton Hoffman played tabs with his bagpipe. One by one, the JROTC read the names of the fallen and silence was spread throughout the crowd.
Once the last name was read, Mary Bader and the Women’s Auxiliary passed out yellow roses to the Gold Star family members.
Summers spoke about the life of her son. He was raised in Poplar Bluff and loved playing sports, especially golf, which led him to join the golf team in high school.
Eric Summers attended Three Rivers College for just a year, but he wanted to see the world and didn’t want to wait to do so. He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and left for boot camp in 2000.
He was deployed to Kuwait in 2003 when the war in Iraq began. A year later, he was sent to Iraq.
“He told me not to worry because he would be in the rear with the gear,” Melodie Summer said. “Apparently, that wasn’t exciting enough for him because in 2005 he was accepted into EOD, Explosive Ordnance Disposal.”
She was astonished at the idea of her son being a bomb technician. He did assure his mother that he loved his job and explained that he’d get to play in the dirt and blow things up just as every boy would love to do.
Eric Summers was deployed to Afghanistan three times as an EOD technician.
“I have no idea how many IED’s he helped disarm. We didn’t talk too much about that, but I do know that by doing his job, he helped save the many lives of his fellow Marines,” Melodie Summers continued.
Eric Summers also volunteered for many security jobs. He swept President George Bush’s Crawford, Texas, house before a meeting with the German chancellor, worked a detail at President Barrack Obama’s first inauguration, worked details for the United Nations General Assembly twice, and was even a security officer for a Luke Bryan and Florida Georgia Line concert.
Veterans Day 2013 was the last time Melodie Summers spoke to her son.
Two days after her phone call with her son, he and other Marine technicians were doing a range sweep at Camp Pendleton.
“This consisted of walking the range, picking up unexploded ordnance, and placing them in a pile to be later detonated,” Melodie Summers explained, “No one knows what happened, but a pile exploded prematurely and Eric, along with three other Marines, lost their lives.”
She said she wanted to remind the public that remembering and honoring those who have served is a thing of importance.
Grief will try to take over and consume a person who has lost a loved one, but for Melodie Summers, she doesn’t want to wallow in grief, but remembrance of the good times and happiness shared with her son.
She wants everyone who has lost a loved one to remember their life and tell their story.
Melodie Summers encourages people to reach out to others for help in their time of grief.
The Summers family have held a golf tournament every year since the passing of Eric Summers. The tournament helps raise money for veterans and children in need. Over $50,000 has been given to that effort since the start of the fundraiser.
Melodie Summers ended her speech with a poem written by Rabbis Kamens and Riemer titled “Gates of Prayer”.
The memorial was ended with a prayer by Dr. Rafael Machuca and the public was invited inside the visitor center to view the National Memorial display.
The event was opened with the Pledge of Allegiance and National Anthem led by Jim Todd and then an opening prayer by Teddy Burnett.
Since Remembering Our Fallen was unveiled near the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 7, 2017, it continues to tour the nation.
Patriotic Productions has a mission of honoring all of the US military and photos are always accepted. The public can visit Patriotic Productions website to view the Tour Schedule, add a Fallen Hero, and even donate to support the memorial. www.PatrioticProductions.org.