The following excerpts are from a speech delivered at the Memorial Day observances on May 31, 2004 at Cedar Grove Cemetery by Lt. Cmdr. Michael Walsh, USN (Retired), a native of Kenwood Street.

Today we are assembled here to honor the sacrifices of the fallen. It is fitting and proper as well to honor the living who remain past warriors; and, the dead of many past conflicts rest here about us. They also rest all across this great land, and in graves on foreign shores. Some rest we know not where.

The dead cannot speak for themselves. Their deeds and their sacrifices, however, remain with us through history and tradition. It is the sacrifices of the fallen together with the continued commitment of the living that have insured for us all the fact that we are able to assemble here, peacefully, and honor those sacrifices. This is the America I grew up in!

On Saturday, the national memorial to the veterans of World War II was officially dedicated to all those who served, fought and sacrificed. Both my parents are of the greatest of generations. Both my parents served their country in uniform, during World War II. Dad was Army - 19th Infantry and is buried not far from here. My beloved mother, Margaret, was Navy, and served at Quonset Point. As a medical corpsman, she was bringing wounded men back to health, nurturing them back into life, and restoring their spirits.

While growing up very close to where we now stand - I remember being four years old and watching my mother caring for my father's lingering war wounds - it is one of the earliest memories of my life. When I entered the room, the look upon my face prompted her to put down her medical instruments. She then grabbed me by the shoulders, looked me dead in the eye and said, "Michael:

Some day your country will need you. Always be brave and do your duty." I continue to remain inspired by the quiet courage of my father and the nurturing devotion of my mother. Her words I continue to live by as they are written upon the tablet of my heart.

My mother's marching orders are clear. They remain so today. This is the America I grew up in. This is the America that continues to exist in our minds, our hearts and our beliefs, despite the difficulties we are in. Sounds to me like my mother's advice is what our nation now needs.

This is our hour of need for national unity at the top, as well as our need of compact unity below decks where we, everyday American citizens, work to make it happen. After many years of military service it occurs to me that not only was my mother pulling shrapnel from my dad - with every piece of metal she pulled from my father, she was not only healing him, she was bringing him back to life, as only the love of a devoted woman can do.

Today we are a nation at war. Fully two-thirds of the United States Armed Forces are engaged on a war footing around the world. This is the first time since World War II that we are at such a high degree of what is known in the military trade as Combat OPTEMPO. We have troops engaged in not only Iraq, we are still engaged in Afghanistan, Bosnia, the Philippines, Korea, Colombia and, soon, Aftica...

The greatest of Holy men who ever lived once said, a house divided against itself cannot stand. Neither can a family, a neighborhood, a Commonwealth or a Nation.! Though we are of many different views on how things should be done, we must, I humbly submit, be united as brothers and sisters, especially in light of the fact the very cream of our youth are shedding their precious blood on foreign soil. As the commander-in-chief has so eloquently put it, they are truly "holding hard won ground for the sake of Liberty".

Take for example the very vivid experience of 1st Lt. Brian Chontosh, United States Marine Corps. Last year in Iraq during the siege of Baghdad, Lt. Contosh's platoon was ambushed. While his entire platoon was being cut to ribbons, he moved from his column, drove his Humvee directly into a firing enemy machine gun. After dispatching the machine gun he jumped into the trench of about 60 enemy. He fired his M-16 rifle till he ran out of ammo. Then he fired his Beretta Pistol until it too ran out of ammo. While completely out of ammunition he grabbed the weapons of enemy dead. Matter of fact, he used up three enemy dead men's rifles and ammunition. He was fighting in a trench at point blank range. He then picked up a discarded RPG rocket launcher and used the enemy weapon against them. By the time it was over, and the smoke cleared, he had fought over 200 yards in a trench. He continued to move and shoot til he had killed them all. He had killed more than 20 and wounded that many more.

Like most of our youth, he would tell it a different way. All he could think about was saving his platoon, his wife and his soon to be born baby. He was awarded the Navy Cross for gallantry, the second highest award for valor a grateful nation can bestow. Lt. Chontosh is truly representative of our youth.

This is the same youth that continues, despite some doubts at home and the errors in judgement of a few. The overwhelming majority of our young people are committed to our values, ideals and culture to prosecute this conflict with honor. This is the America I grew up in and that we still have today!

What we are about today this Memorial Day is to also look to the future. The ticker tape parade will not be held anytime soon. We are preparing the ground for our grandchildren to walk down that path of victory. To achieve this we must not only win, we must prevail. For if we should not prevail, we shall not survive. To prevail we must survive. To survive we must believe we can survive. To believe we must have the faith borne of the sacrifices of those fallen before us. We, Ladies and Gentlemen must believe in ourselves.

Duty, Honor and Country are not four letter words. These are ideals, borne not only by deeds, but by belief. Make no mistake about it Ladies and Gentlemen. What we fight today is ideology. It is a direct threat upon our lives, our culture and our future. We are fighting a pernicious dogma bent upon our very destruction. And from personal experience I can state unequivocally that when it gets right down to it, when your fighting man-to-man, and hand-to-hand you are not just fighting the other man, you are fighting what that man believes, and the strength of that belief, because in the very end only one man walks away from such an encounter. I have fought some of these same people before in other lands. They will not quit, neither will I, neither can we...

...Finally, let us then be a team, call it whatever you wish. We must be an American Team - citizens all- supporting one another, no matter our faith, station or heritage. This we accomplish with focus, determination and conviction. This we accomplish with what our forefathers had: purpose and vision. Let us then re-ignite that purpose and vision, that in the end Lady Liberty's light will shine ever more brightly. Not only upon our own shores, but on the shores of all who are oppressed by tyrannical forces seeking world hegemony in a world hungry for peace. I've fought in many parts of the world in my life and have seen the best and less than admirable humankind can be. We, however, this greatest of nations, are the spear of liberty, the shield of faith and the buckler of hope in a world desperate for hope. And like my dear mother Margaret said more than once: Charity begins at home Michael. Let's be a team.