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published: Friday, November 14, 2008
Lest we forget
BENJAMIN ROODE
Staff Writer
The grass near Spc. Cody Clark Grater is wet longer than most on plots at the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell. Grater's mother, Anita Lewis, can tell you a lot of minute details about the cemetery: How long it takes most flowers placed next to graves to lose their petals or what the sacred place looks like at 2 a.m., when wild deer wander among the tombstones of fallen soldiers, both active and retired.
Lewis' son, a truck driver with the Army's 82nd Airborne Division, was killed July 29, 2007 in Iraq. Since his interment here more than a year ago, she's visited two to three times per month, sometimes more.
She sits on the ground, on a plastic bag to ward off the dew. She decorates her son's grave, which sits within sight of the cemetery's veterans memorial. White silk flowers are clustered around a cloth American flag. Several smaller, plastic flags stand guard in front of the stone.
Lewis is both frank and emotional about her and her son's decision to join the U.S. Army.
Between bouts of tears, she leans an arm, then her chin, on her son's tombstone. Passers-by donate a loving pat on the shoulder. One woman asks if Lewis has considered grief counseling. It's too soon to go, Lewis replies.
Her son was taken too soon and for a cause Lewis cannot understand, she says. The military was a good thing for her son, she says, but she didn't expect him to die.
"No, he's a survivor, like me," she says, brushing dust and condensation from her son's stone. "I didn't think anything would happen."
Those who volunteer to serve their country know, especially now, that their choice could mean making the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
Lewis and many other visitors on Tuesday stood at their relatives' graves during Tuesday's Veterans Day service at the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell.
Hundreds gathered at the cemetery to honor those who have served their country.
Florida Governor Charlie Crist was among those who attended, saying he was there to thank all veterans on behalf of the people of Florida.
"Let me say how grateful I am for the service of every one of the veterans in this state. God bless you all," he said.
About 1.7 million veterans call Florida home.
Many of the veterans at the cemetery died in combat, fighting for their country, said retired Rear Admiral LeRoy Collins, Jr., executive director of the state's Department of Veterans Affairs. The freedoms they secured for all Americans should be honored, he said.
"We celebrate the blessings of liberty secured by our (servicemen)," he said.
Soldiers such as Edgar Mittong, who lies here, fought in the great battles of World War II. Mittong's daughter, Chris Modisette, placed flowers at her mother's and father's grave Tuesday morning.
Many young people continue to sign up for the armed services despite the risks, she said. It's that type of spirit that continues to drive the country in the right direction in spite of bad news about the economy or other matters.
Many in Modisette's family, including her former son-in-law, serve in the Armed Forces. That former son-in-law, Chris Petticrew, is readying himself for a second tour of duty in Iraq.
The commitment to country people like Grater and Petticrew shows that the United States will continue to have strong people defending it, she said.
"Maybe we still have a chance," she added.
