Our World: Honoring their sacrifice

"Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it."

— George Santayana, writer and philosopher, 1863

During the Memorial Day Ceremony last Monday at Naples Memorial Funeral Home and Cemetery, the Soldiers of the Past Honor Guard served as a reminder of our country's history — one in which young men and women have been going out for generation after generation to fight for our country.

Clad in uniforms representing soldiers in major American conflicts, members of the honor guard silently marched past the crowd. As each one passed, Capt. James Elson, president of the Veterans Council of Collier County, gave the Roll Call:

War for Independence, 4,425 battle deaths

War of 1812, 2,260 battle deaths

Indian Wars, 1,000 battle deaths

Mexican War, 1,733 battle deaths

Civil War, 140,414 Union and 74,524 Confederate battle deaths

Spanish American War, 385 battle deaths

World War I, 53,402 battle deaths

Photo by DAVID AHNTHOLZ, Daily News

World War II, 291,557 battle deaths

Korean War, 33,741 battle deaths

Vietnam War, 58,235 battle deaths

Desert Storm-Gulf War, 147 battle deaths

War in Iraq and Afghanistan, 2,466 battle deaths.

Portraying a Union officer from the Civil War, David Southall says 'living history' is often used as an educational tool at the Collier County Museum, where he is curator of education.

The Soldiers of the Past Honor Guard, started about six years ago, is comprised of Collier County museum employees and volunteers. As the museum started collecting uniforms, the staff thought the message of veterans' sacrifices could be made very elegantly in memorial ceremonies.

"We become a product of our history," Southall says. It bothers him that nobody here seems to care, he says, and that some people think the group is just "showing off." He says the core group of about 25 people participate in Veterans Day and Memorial Day ceremonies and re-enactments as a way to honor veterans.

Southall speaks from experience. He is a Vietnam veteran who served as a combat squad leader in 1966-67 with the 1st Infantry Division and was wounded three times. When he returned home after his tour, he was spit on. He says he felt cheated because what the soldiers did was honorable.

"They join the military because it's an honorable profession. We have to honor them."