Photograph by Freddie Herpin.
BOBBY ARDOIN
Editor/Consulting Writer
The ceremonial sound of the military roll call bell signifying those killed or missing in action always brings Darrell Minix back 24 years ago to a moment in Iraq when he realized the poignancy of the term ultimate sacrifice.
Minix, a retired U.S. Army command sergeant major, recalled during an annual Memorial Day ceremony on Monday the death of a fellow soldier that had not yet reached legal drinking age.
His superior officers told Minix to prepare a roll call salute for the soldier killed in action on June 4, 2009 and the memory of presiding over the service and remembering a young life lost has never left Minix.
“This young man never got to enjoy all of the things in life when you are 21. I remember him saying that he looked forward to legally drinking a beer in July,, but he never got to do that. It’s something that sticks with you all your life,” said Minix, the keynote speaker during a ceremony held at the Yambilee Building.
Minix told a crowd of about 200 that in most cases U.S. military service has been performed by “ordinary people who are asked to perform extraordinary tasks during extreme times.”
This year is particularly appropriate to remember American servicemen, since the military has recognized the end of the Vietnam War in 2023, Minix said.
Minix recognized the high casualty rate experienced by the American military in Vietnam in addition to the treatment many of them encountered when they returned stateside.
“Like some of us, (Vietnam veterans) did not get a parade when they returned home. Instead many of them were spit on and called names like baby killers. Those who served in Vietnam paid a huge price, with nearly 150,000 wounded, another 1,600 declared missing in action and about 60,000 dead,” Minix added.
St. Landry Memorial Service
The Memorial Day event moved to the parish veteran’s memorial following the conclusion of the Yambilee Building ceremony.
Those who attended the outdoor event experienced the lowering and raising of the flags in the center of the memorial in addition to a traditional rifle salute and the playing of taps, that echoed morosely over the several acres of the occupied by the Memorial complex.
Special Veterans Memorial Announcement
St. Landry parish president Jessie Bellard told those who attended the Yambilee Building event that enough private and donation funding has been received in order to begin initial construction on a proposed visitor’s center at the Memorial site.
Bellard has said previously that the parish has donated $150,000 for the visitor’s center building, while another $125,000 from state funding by District 40 State Representative Dustin Miller and District 24 State Senator Gerald Boudreaux.
Recently LightSource BP, which has launched a solar farm project in the Plaisance area, has agreed to provide another $153,000 to begin work on the center, Bellard said.
