ST. LANDRY PARISH — At 8:00 a.m. on Friday morning, it was all hands on deck at the St. Landry Parish Veterans Memorial Park, as a group of dedicated veterans gathered to prepare the site for Memorial Day services scheduled for Monday.
“It’s not done until the mission is completed,” said Commader for VFW post 2483, Jessie Perry, who is retired from the Louisiana Army National Guard. He joined fellow veterans in cleaning and power-washing the memorial site — each of them committed to honoring the memories of fallen comrades.
Among those working were:
-Retired Command Sgt. Major Jessie Perry
-Senior Vice Commander and former Marine James Wheeler
-Retired U.S. Army Master Sgt. Joseph Thomas
-Staff Sgt. Charles Goff
“Every one of us out here — whether it be Marine, Navy SEAL, Air Force, Army, or Coast Guard — we’re here to get this done,” said Perry.
Together, they scrubbed benches, washed memorial bricks, and tended to the engraved names of service members who never made it home. Many of those names hold deep personal meaning for the men doing the work.
“People that I have served with are listed on the bricks at this memorial,” Perry shared. “Millions of Americans have gone overseas to serve this country, and many of them never came home.”
Some of those names etched into the memorial include:
- Craig David
- Jarred Fontenot
- Johnathan Reed
- Joseph Richard
- Myles Sebastien
“They were young, full of life,” Perry said. “They went overseas to serve their country, and they never returned home to enjoy the life and freedoms I get to enjoy with my family every day.”
For Wheeler, it’s about showing respect and upholding the values that unite all veterans.
“It shows that we, as veterans, have respect for our fellow veterans that didn’t make it home,” he said.
While Perry acknowledges the sacrifice of service can never truly be repaid, he believes that tending to the memorial is a meaningful step toward preserving the memory of those who served.
“I want to tell them thank you,” he said. “Know that we do think of them always as veterans — and we will never forget them. That is the purpose of this park: we will never forget.”
The memorial service will take place in Opelousas at the Yambilee Building on Landry street starting at 10:30am and will conclude at the St.Landry Veterans Memorial Park with a 21-gun salute.
