Two honored during Patriots Peace Memorial
LOUISVILLE, KY. (WHAS News)
For the past 24 years, the Patriots Peace Memorial has found and honored the lives of those lost during service.
Since 2002, the Patriots Peace Memorial has honored the life, service, and sacrifice of 469 fallen service members.
With the help of their family and friends, the memorial honors those who died during active service and in non-combat situations. This Memorial Day, the Patriots Peace Memorial recognizes Louisville’s 2nd Lt. William Joseph Martin, and Sgt. Ronald David Brubaker of Pennsylvania.
Sgt. “Ronnie” Brubaker, one of eight siblings, was killed in 1977 during a parachute accident in Okinawa, Japan.
Rick and Randy Brubaker, Sgt. Brubaker’s brothers, remember Brubaker as being the “mischievous” sibling out of the bunch. They say Brubaker joined the Marine Corps out of high school, and inspired future generations of Brubaker’s to join the service.
Rick and Randy traveled from out of state to celebrate their brother being etched into the walls of the memorial.
“It’s humbling to know that these folks volunteer to do what they do,” Rick Brubaker says. “Not all of them come back.”
“And to realizes so many service personnel lose their lives outside of combat and that there’s a place to honor them is what’s special,” Randy Brubaker adds.
U.S. Rep. Morgan McGarvey (D-Kentucky) was also in attendance, paying tribute to his good friend and service member Drew Hilliard.
” … Behind every one of these names, there’s moms, there’s dads, there’s brothers and sisters, husbands and wives who’ve got an empty seat at the table today,” Rep. McGarvey says.
On a nomination basis, the Patriots Peace Memorial finds and honors local service members who have died after the Vietnam war, though some select members, like Sgt. Brubaker, are honored.
Among those attending, those who served alongside Brubaker.
“We have though of Ronnie for some fifty years. This (enshrinement) puts that a little bit to rest,” Col. Paul Ressler says. “We never found his body although we searched for many days.”
The memorial serves as a permanent reminder of those who make the ultimate sacrifice.
“You never forget them, that’s one thing I can say about my friends — we have never forgot and we never will,” Col. Ressler says.
Even after his service ended, Col. Ressler says the bonds formed have remained strong. Memorial Day, he says is not only a day of tribute — but a reminder of those we meet along the way.
“… We don’t see each other for years at a time, and we get back together, it’s just like yesterday,” Col. Ressler says.
See video and full article: https://www.whas11.com/article/news/local/patriots-peace-memorial-day-service/417-18b2d51e-efd9-4353-a79a-dfba8de1ac1b