Keynote speaker Command Sgt. Maj. Richard Matthews of Eau Claire, grandfather of a 6-year-old girl who asked him, “What’s Memorial Day?” knew “I have to deliver the best speech I can because this is the first time she’s asked me a question like this.”

Memorial Day “is different for every single person,” he said Monday from the platform erected in front of City Hall. “I believe we remember those who have served and are currently serving. I remember nine soldiers who didn’t make it through my battalion in Afghanistan and their families. I remember what fine young men those soldiers were, each and every one of them.”

“I remember the ultimate sacrifice they gave so that we can come here today free and walk this street unharmed,” Matthews said. “That’s why they served.”

Matthews also remembers a “4-foot-nothing” Afghan girl at a school opening southeast of Kabul.

“Opening up a girls school there was one of the proudest moments of our lives,” he said. “Girls had a tough time learning over there. This little girl got up and gave a speech in Afghan. I didn’t understand her and my interpreter was not close by. My interpreter got the school ‘anthem’ from this little girl and wrote it down for me: ‘How turn into ashes my beautiful dear garden/see my homeland, see my homeland/see the high peaks, for you will find injuries there in this great land/placed mines everywhere/no destiny available/homes and villages are poisoned/see my homeland, see my homeland/look, the alleys are full of the starved and poor/how beloved they were that are orphans now/my skirt has caught fire of looting and prowling now/see my homeland, see my homeland/we’re the proud teachers of the nation/the students who were twinkling in the globe/my body has caught the fire of looting and prowling/see my homeland, see my homeland.”

“They ask sometimes, ‘Was it worth going to Afghanistan for a year?’ ” Matthews said. “The train-up, soldiers going over there, soldiers losing their lives. Well, you talk to this little girl, who now has a school that they are free to go to, hundreds of school-age girls who were deprived of that just four short years ago, so I say absolutely it was worth the time away from family.

“I had the pleasure to do some mentoring over there,” Matthews continued. “I sat down with a village elder who was about 72 years old and had seen it all in Afghanistan. He talked about the days beautiful roses grew. And he talked to me about grandchildren. He had quite a few, but he also had a few more wives than I did, also.

“When we talked about grandchildren, he wasn’t any different than I was. He’s just looking for a new Afghanistan with stability and freedom, same as we’ve got here. I talked to a little girl on one end and an old man on the other end of our spectrum of life. Was it worth it? Absolutely.”

Matthews, a native of Carson in southern Iowa, has 37 years of military service, including six years in the Marine Corps and the rest in the Army National Guard.

Among his many decorations and awards are the Bronze Star and Afghanistan Campaign Ribbon awarded for his service in Afghanistan.

“This is very humbling to speak to a city of this size,” he said. “I want to thank all the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines out there in the crowd who are currently serving or have served this great nation.

“I also want to thank the firemen, police force, sheriff’s department, those guys who go out there every single day into harm’s way. Sometimes we take that for granted, and I never want to do that. Remember who you’re honoring and why you’re here. You didn’t come here on a beautiful day like this just to listen to an old sergeant major talk. Let’s take all the young children out there and make sure they truly understand why we’re here.”

VFW Post 1855 Commander Skip Cline called Memorial Day “that one day each year that we set aside to honor those who lost their lives in defense of this country. Iraq continues to have hot spots. Casualties are still being reported, but are on the decline. No deaths of American forces occurred between Jan. 18 and Feb. 17 of this year.

“The same cannot be said for Afghanistan, where 18 American servicemen died in combat. To the families of those 18 who perished, we offer our condolences, as well as a heartfelt thank-you. Yes, Memorial Day is about them, as well as countless others before them. This one day a year is dedicated to those who gave all.”

“A couple of names worth mentioning this year,” Cline continued, “are Frank Buckles, the last remaining World War I veteran, who passed away at the ripe old age of 110 at his home in Charlestown, W.Va., on Feb. 27.

“The other name worth mentioning is Osama bin Laden. After 9 1/2 years, the United States finally prevailed. On May 1, he, too, was laid to rest.”

Pausing for applause, Cline added, “His death once again proves the core strengths of this country are and always will be we never give up and we will always remember.”

“Remember sometime today to stop what you’re doing on this day of being together with family and friends and give thankful prayer and thoughts for all of our veterans and troops who have served before and died for their country and are currently serving their country from around the world, but especially for those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom,” Master of Ceremonies Brad Yazel said. “Enjoy the beautiful weather now that we’ve finally got it.”

Mayor Donald Lyons introduced City Council, whose members rode to the cemetery in limousines: Lori Hunt and Junior Oliver, First Ward; Jim Dodd and Bob Schuur, Second Ward; and Mayor Pro Tem Leon Laylin, Third Ward.

Mayor Lyons offered special thanks to Masonic Peninsular Lodge 10 “for the hard work they put in each year to prepare for this parade and making certain that it goes off absolutely perfectly. They do a marvelous job every year.”

Yazel said, “Memorial Day was established under General Order 11, which was issued by the headquarters of the Grand Army of the Republic back on May 5, 1868. That proclaimed that May 30 was a day to honor all of our fallen veterans.”

Father Kevin Covert of Holy Maternity of Mary Catholic Church offered the invocation.

Alex Hubbell’s middle school band played the national anthem while C.J. Brooks’ Union High School Chieftain Marching Band performed “Battle Hymn of the Republic.”