Fallen Soliders of Past and Present Wars Remembered

A memorial in downtown Pontotoc honors the area's fallen soldiers, including the four who have died in Iraq.

In between cookouts and swimming, communities across the state took time on Memorial Day to remember the soldiers who gave their lives for their country. MPB’s Cari Gervin has more.

Memorial Day began as a way to honor fallen soldiers after the Civil War. But Monday, it was the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that weighed heavy on the minds of Mississippians across the state.

In the small town of Pontotoc, the flag-filled ceremony was especially poignant. Four soldiers from the area have lost their lives in the current Iraq War.

One of those was 24-year-old Lance Corporal Mark Lucas Tucker, who was killed in June 2005. His mother, Donna Bagwell, says her day off work no longer has the same meaning.

“You know, in the back of your mind you always know Memorial Day is for remembering. But you know, it’s a holiday, you’re off work, you go to the lake, you do your cookouts – it changes the way you look at things. So – it’s forever changed the way we look at things.”

Bobby Irvin was a Marine for seven years. He says the meaning of the holiday is important.

“It was good to see the turnout here today, with the number of people that we had. Seems like a lot of people forget about the sacrifices that were made that for us just to be here today. There were a lot of people in the past that died, that shed their blood, that we might have freedom.”

Leslie Pearman agrees. She says she looks at the holiday as a learning opportunity.

“It’s just a day that I need to bring my children out and teach them about the sacrifices that have been made.”

Pearman said she hopes that the state’s sacrifices are done, at least in this war, as another combat team of Mississippi soldiers are departing for Iraq in June.

For MPB News, I’m Cari Gervin.