DEDICATION CEREMONY
VETERANS MEMORIAL PARK AND LT. BILLY WEBB AVENUE
VETERANS DAY
¥ NOVEMBER 11, 2003
VETERANS MEMORIAL PARK ¥ ABINGDON, VA
WE ARE ABLE TO BE GATHERED HERE TODAY ONLY BECAUSE THOUSANDS OF AMERICAN SERVICE MEN AND WOMEN HAVE GIVEN THEIR LIVES FOR OUR FREEDOMS. AMONG THE MANY FREEDOMS WITH WHICH WE ARE BLESSED, BUT WHICH IS OFTEN TAKEN FOR GRANTED, IS THE FREEDOM OF PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY. THIS FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT IS DENIED TO MILLIONS OF OTHERS IN COUNTRIES THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. LET US NEVER FORGET, WHILE IT IS OUR LEGAL SYSTEM THAT PROVIDES FOR OUR LIBERTIES, IT IS THE BLOOD OF OUR SOLDIERS THAT SUSTAIN THEM.
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OUR AMERICAN SERVICE MEN AND WOMEN HAVE AND ARE CONTINUING TO PAY THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE OF THEIR LIFE, THEIR LIBERTY AND THEIR PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS IN ORDER THAT OTHERS MAY BE FREE AND THIS NATION MAY LIVE. IT IS NOW ALL TOGETHER FITTING AND PROPER THAT WE COME HERE TODAY TO PAY RESPECT AND GIVE HONOR TO THESE MEN AND WOMEN BY DEDICATING, CONSECRATING AND MAKING HALLOWED THIS GROUND WHICH FROM THIS DAY FORWARD SHALL BE KNOWN AS ÒVETERANS MEMORIAL PARK.Ó
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AMONG THE COUNTLESS THOUSANDS OF THESE FALLEN HEROES
WAS LT. BILLY WEBB. THIS IS SOME
OF HIS STORY. WILLIAM ÒBILLYÓ WEBB
WAS BORN AND RAISED IN ABINGDON, ONE OF TWO CHILDREN AND THE ONLY SON OF GRANT
AND MARY GRAY WEBB. HE WAS IN THE
FIRST GRADUATING CLASS OF THE THEN NEW ABINGDON HIGH SCHOOL. AS A TEENAGER, BILLY WAS A NEWSPAPER
BOY AND COULD BE SEEN EVERY MORNING BEFORE SCHOOL RIDING HIS BICYCLE ON THE
STREETS OF ABINGDON, DELIVERING THE BRISTOL HERALD COURLER, RAIN OR SHINE. HE GRADUATED FROM VPI AND WAS
COMMISSIONED A SECOND LIEUTENANT IN THE UNITED STATES ARMY. SOON THEREAFTER, AT THE AGE OF
TWENTY-FOUR, HE WAS ORDERED TO VIETNAM.
IN EARLY JUNE 1966, AFTER BEING IN VIETNAM FOR ONLY ABOUT THREE WEEKS,
BILLY AND A YOUNG SERGEANT WERE SCOUTING AN AREA TO ESTABLISH A BASE CAMP ABOUT
20 MILES NORTH OF SAIGON. UPON
REACHING THE TOP OF A SMALL HILL, THEN KNOWN AS HILL 23, ABOUT THE SAME SIZE OF
THE ONE WHERE WE NOW STAND, HE AND THE SERGEANT WERE AMBUSHED AND KILLED BY THE
VIET CONG.
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LATER BILLYÕS COMPANY ESTABLISHED HEADQUARTERS AT THE
FOOT OF THE SMALL HILL WHERE BILLY HAD DIED. IN FRONT OF THE COMPANY HEADQUARTERS HUT WAS A LITTLE DUSTY
DIRT ROAD. BILLYÕS COMRADES, WHO
DID NOT WANT HIM TO EVER BE FORGOTTEN, PROUDLY ERECTED A SIMPLE ÒSTREET
SIGNÓ NAMING THE LITTLE DIRT ROAD ÒWEBB AVENUEÓ IN BILLYÕS HONOR. ON ANOTHER NEARBY ROAD THEY PLACE
ANOTHER SIGN HONORING THE YOUNG SERGEANT.
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MANY OF YOU HERE PROBABLY KNOW SOME OF THE REST OF THE
STORY. THE NORTH VIETNAMESE AND
VIET CONG SWEPT THROUGH THE BASE, AFTER OUR TROOPS HAD BEEN WITHDRAWN, AND
DESECREATED THE SIGNS AND DESTROYED ANY RECOGNITION THAT BILLY AND THE SERGEANT
WERE EVER THERE, OR HAD EVER LIVED OR DIED.
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BILLY WEBB WAS THE ONLY SOLDIER FROM OUR AREA OF WHOM
WE ARE AWARE WHO EVER HAD A MEMORIAL ERECTED IN HIS HONOR ON FOREIGN SOIL, ONLY
TO BE LATER DESTROYED BY THE ENEMY.
THIRTY SEVEN YEARS LATER, WE NOW COME TOGETHER, IN ABINGDON, VIRGINIA,
BILLYÕS HOMETOWN, TO RECTIFY THAT DESECRATION, NOT ONLY IN HONOR OF BILLY BUT
ALL OUR FALLEN AMERICAN HEROES.
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JUNE 5, 1966, WAS TO BE A HAPPY OCCASION FOR THE WEBB
FAMILY. IT WAS MRS. WEBBÕS
BIRTHDAY. IT WAS TO HAVE BEEN A
DAY OF CELEBRATION; INSTEAD IT BECAME A DAY OF GRIEF AND A DAY OF PERPETUAL
MOURNING FOR THIS FAMILY. IT WAS
ON THIS DAY THAT OUR BELOVED JOHNNY WOOD OF CHANNEL 5 BROUGHT THE NEWS TO MRS.
WEBB THAT HIS COUSIN, BILLY, HAD BEEN KILLED A FEW HOURS EARLIER, THOUSANDS OF
MILES FROM HIS HOME. JOHNNYÕS
FATHER, MRS. WEBBÕS BROTHER, HAD ALSO SERVED OUR COUNTRY WAS ONE OF AMERICANÕS
FIRST ARMY AVIATORS IN WORLD WAR I.
BILLY LEFT SURVIVING HIS FATHER, GRANT WEBB, WHO WAS A SOLDIER IN WORLD
WAR II, HIS MOTHER, MARY GRAY WEBB, HIS SIXTEEN YEAR OLD SISTER, SANDRA, HIS
YOUNG BRIDE, REBECCA AND THEIR SIAMESE CAT, SYDNEY, AND MANY COUSINS. REBECCA WAS FROM THE FRIENDLY PLEASANT
VILLAGE OF NEWSOMS, VIRGINIA, WHICH IS HUNDREDS OF MILES FROM ABINGDON IN
EASTERN VIRGINIA, NOT FAR FROM THE ATLANTIC OCEAN. BECAUSE SHE WISHED TO BE CLOSE TO BILLY, REBECCA ASKED THAT
HE BE BURIED IN NEWSOMS. THERE IS
WHERE HE LIES TODAY BENEATH A GRAVESTONE WITH A SIMPLE BUT PROFOUND
EPITAPH: ÒGAVE HIS LIFE FOR HIS
COUNTRY IN VIETNAM.Ó
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REBECCA TRIED TO GO ON WITH HER LIFE AND LATER
REMARRIED BUT ALWAYS CARRIED BILLY DEEP WITHIN HER HEART. ON SEPTEMBER 22, 2001, REBECCA PASSED
AWAY AND IN HER DYING WISHES REQUESTED THAT SHE BE BURIED ALONGSIDE HER YOUNG WARRIOR, BILLY. TODAY BILLY AND REBECCA NOW LIE SIDE BY
SIDE AND I BELIEVE BILLYÕS SOUL IS NOW AT PEACE, AT LONG LAST.
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AMONG THIS LONG HALLOWED HALL OF HEROES FROM
WASHINGTON COUNTY ARE ALBERT AND CLEVELAND PERRY, TWO BROTHERS, WHOSE WIDOWED
MOTHER, MRS. OLLIE PERRY, LEARNED BY SEPARATE TELEGRAMS DELIVERED TO HER DOOR
IN CLINCHBURG, ONE DAY APART, THAT HER BOYS HAD BOTH BEEN KILLED IN KOREA, ONE DAY APART. FIVE OF MRS. PERRYÕS SONS SERVED THEIR
COUNTRY, TWO GAVE THEIR LIVES.
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THERE HAVE BEEN HUNDREDS OF OTHER SERVICE MEN FROM WASHINGTON COUNTY WHO HAVE GIVEN THEIR LIFE FOR OUR COUNTRY IN VIETNAM, KOREA, WORLD WAR II, WORLD WAR I, THE SPANISH AMERICAN WAR AND THE MANY BATTLES AND OTHER WARS WE HAVE HAD TO FIGHT FOR OUR COUNTRY SINCE KINGSÕ MOUNTAIN AND THE BEGINNING OF OUR NATION IN 1776. AMONG THIS ROLL CALL OF FALLEN HEREOS ARE: HENRY CRIGGER, ROBERT COOKE, HAROLD STURGILL, CARL SEXTON, JOHNNY WRIGHT, CHARLES LUTHER ÒSHORTYÓ BROWN, BOBBY HAMPTON, BILLY ELMORE, HUBERT HAYTER, JAMES MOTLEY, WILLIAM HAGY, HAL CLARK, HURLEY FELTY, ELWOOD MINNICK, CHARLES L. MCCONNELL, JR., GLEN WOLFE, AUTRY, BARKER, BLEVINS, BLAND, CAMPBELL, COWAN, CROWE, ELLER, ELLISON, GOBBLE, COLLEY, FARRIS, GOFF, GRAVES, GREE, HAGY, HAND, HELTON, HILLMAN, HOLZHAUER, HARLEY, HURLEY, HYLER, HUTTON, LEWIS, LEONARD, MCCONNELL, MOCK, PARKER, PENNINGTON, PRESTON, ROBINSON, RUSH, SMITH, SPROLES, THOMAS, TATE, WATERS, WALLACE, WEBB, WIDENER, WITHERSPOON, WOODWARD, ELLIS, WORLEY, YARBER, PLUMMER, BEATIE, BLACKBURN, DRYDEN, EDMONDSON, HENEGAR, SHAVER, WILLOUGHBY Ð AND THE ROLL GOES ON.
THESE ARE JUST A FEW OF THE THOUSANDS OF AMERICAN WHO
HAVE PAID AND CONTINUE TO PAY THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE FOR OUR FREEDOM. LIKE BILLY, EACH AND EVERY ONE
OF THESE NAMES HAD A FACE, FEELINGS, A FAMILY, FRIENDS, MAYBE A FAITHFUL DOG, A
CAT OR OTHER PET. ALL HAD
UNFILLED HOPES AND DREAMS AND A STORY THAT SHOULD BE TOLD AND REMEMBERED.
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TODAY WE ARE AGAIN ENGAGED IN A GREAT WAR, UNLIKE ANY WE HAVE EVER BEFORE KNOWN, FIGHTING COWARDLY TERRORISTS WHO CHALLENGE THE VERY EXISTENCE OF OUR NATION. AN UNWITTING ALLY OF THE ENEMIES OF THIS OR ANY NATION IS THE COMPLACENCY AND INDIFFERENCE OF ITS CITIZENS. WE CANNOT AFFORD TO FORGET THAT A PRICE OF FREEDOM IS CONSTANT VIGILENCE. IF WE ARE TO PREVAIL AND ENDURE AS A NATION, WE MUST STAND FAST AND STAND TOGETHER AND GIVE PROPER RECOGNITION, RESPECT AND SUPPORT TO OUR SOLDIERS, SAILORS, AIRMENT, MARINES AND COAST GUARDSMEN, WHOSE RANKS ARE FILLED WITH THE BILLYS AND BILLIE JEANS OF THIS COUNTRY, WHO ARE TODAY AND WILL TOMORROW BE WAGING THE FIGHT FOR OUR BASIC SURVIVAL.
THE WAY WE TREAT OUR CHILDREN, OUR ELDERS, OUR
FIREMEN, OUR POLICEMEN AND OUR SOLDIERS IS A DIRECT MEASURE OF THE CHARACTER OF
A COMMUNITY. THE BILLY WEBBS OF
OUR COUNTRY MUST NEVER BE FORGOTTEN.
IF WE SHOULD FORGET OUR FIREMENT, OUR POLICEMENT, AND OUR SOLDIERS,
THERE MAY BE A DAY WHEN THEY FORGET US Ð THEN ALL IS LOST AND OUR COUNTRY WILL
BE NO MORE.
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NEARLY FOUR DECADES AFTER BILLY WEBBÕS DEATH HIS
SPIRIT LIVES ON AND HIS STORY PROVIDED THE INSPIRATION FOR THIS PARK WHICH
TODAY IS NOW DEDICATED AS A MEMORIAL TO ALL SERVICE MEN AND WOMEN AND THEIR
FAMILIES AND ALL AMERICAN HEREOES.
ON JUNE 2 OF THIS YEAR THE TOWN COUNCIL OF ABINGDON,
VIRGINIA, AFTER HEARING THE STORY OF BILLY WEBB AND SOME OF THE OTHER FALLEN SOLDIERS, VOTED TO SET
ASIDE AND DESIGNATE THE GROUND ON WHICH WE STAND TODAY AS ÔVETERANS MEMORIAL
PARKÓ.
ON SEPTEMBER 2, THE TOWN PAID FURTHER TRIBUTE TO LT.
BILLY WEBB AND HIS FAMILY AND ALL OUR FALLEN SOLDIERS BY NAMING THE ENTRANCE
ROAD TO THE PARK ÒLT. BILLY WEBB AVENUEÓ, AS A SYMBOL OF RESPECT AND HONOR TO
ALL THE BILLY WEBBS AND BILLIE JEANS OF THIS NATION WHO HAVE GIVEN THEIR LIVES
FOR OUR FREEDOM.
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WHEN MRS. WEBB, NOW A WIDOW, APPROACHING HER 91ST
BIRTHDAY, LEARNED FROM HER DAUGHTER, SANDRA, THAT THE TOWN OF ABINGDON HAD
NAMED A STREET AFTER BILLY, SHE BRAVELY AND COMPASSIONATELY SAID WHAT WELL
COULD BE THE WORDS OF THOUSANDS OF OTHER BRAVE, UNSELFISH AND GIVING AMERICAN
MOTHERS ABOUT THEIR LOST SONS AND DAUGHTERS: ÒBUT HEÕS NOT THE ONLY ONE.Ó SANDRA, WHO HAD CAPTURED THE SIGNIFICANCE, SYMBOLISM AND
SPIRIT OF THE TOWNÕS ACTION, GAVE HER HEARTFELT REPLY TO HER MOTHER: ÒMOMMA, HE REPRESENTS THEM ALL Ð
MOMMA, HE REPRESENTS THEM ALL.Ó
BY THIS CEREMONY AND WITH THE PRESENCE OF ALL HERE
GATHERED WE DEDICATE THIS VETERANS MEMORIAL PARK AND ÒLT. BILLY WEBB AVENUEÓ, IN
HONOR OF THEM ALL.
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AT THIS TIME ON BEHALF OF THE TOWN OF ABINGDON AND ALL
THE VETERANS GATHERED HERE I HAVE THE GREAT HONOR TO PRESENT TO MRS. WEBB A
REPLICA OF THE SIGN OF ÒLT. BILLY WEBB AVENUEÓ. IT IS A SMALL BUT HEARTFELT AND SINCERE TOKEN OF OUR
ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND OUR APPRECIATION OF HER TRAGIC LOSS AND SACRIFICE AND IS A
SINCERE SYMBOL OF RECOGNITION, RESPECT AND HONOR TO ALL THE MOTHERS AND FATHERS
WHO HAVE GIVEN OF THEIR CHILDREN, SO THAT OTHERS MAY BE FREE.
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MRS. WEBB IN PRESENTING THIS SYMBOLIC MEMORIAL
HONORING BILLY, I WOULD LIKE TO REPEAT THE WORDS OF YOUR DAUGHTER, SANDRA: ÒMOMMA, HE REPRESENTS THEM ALL.Ó MRS. WEBB, BILLY REPRESENTS THEM
ALL, AND IS AMONG AMERICAÕS BEST.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH AND MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND MAY GOD
BLESS AMERICA.