PEORIA, Ill. – A former Peoria City Council member gets emotional when he talks about Memorial Day.
Bruce Brown was drafted in to the Vietnam War as a Marine more than 50 years ago, but before he could go, his orders changed, and he ended up being a photographer in Okinawa.
“The pictures I took of our young Marines going in to the battle space in Vietnam were all vertical,” said Brown, the keynote speaker at Monday’s Memorial Day service in Peoria at the Gateway Building. “The pictures I would be assigned to take of them returning from the battle space were all horizontal.”
Brown gets emotional periodically when talking about Vietnam. An example is when he was once asked by a child what the colors on the Marine Corps flag stood for.
“As he approached me, the young man said, ‘My grandpa said I should ask you…how come that Marine Corps flag is red and yellow?’” said Brown. “Now, we’re getting into it. It’s not red and yellow. It’s scarlet and gold.”
Brown is part of a group called “22 Veteran Artists” that brings awareness to veterans suicides. Over the weekend, the group unveiled its newest work at the Peoria Heights Library next to the Rock Island Greenway.
While Memorial Day is, arguably, not a day for celebration, even as families have gatherings consisting of parties and cookouts. One could not help but notice the happiness in City Council member Sid Ruckriegel’s face when opening this year’s ceremony.
“We are able to do a lot of events throughout the year,” said Ruckriegel, also president of the Peoria Memorial Association. “But, none holds no more sacred an honor to be in this group at this gathering during this remembrance ceremony. This is what allows everybody in public service to be able to do what we do each day.”
This was the first in-person service in three years, after the last two were help virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wreaths were laid at the veterans’ memorial at the Gateway building for those whose lives were lost in all wars, in police actions, and as prisoners of war.
Watch the full Veterans Day ceremony below.
