Memorial Day observances draw crowds across Tarrant

Riley Stephens grew up in Tolar, a tiny town in Hood County.

He enlisted in the Army as an infantryman in 1993, married, became a father of three and later trained as a medic.

In 2012, Sgt. 1st Class Stephens volunteered to deploy to Afghanistan as part of a Special Forces unit, just three weeks after returning from a previous deployment. That Sept. 28 he was killed in combat in Wardak province.

“I was in awe of the way he carried himself on the battlefield,” Master Sgt. Mike McCumbee said Monday at the 31st annual Memorial Day service at Moore Funeral Home and Memorial Gardens. “Texas did a good job with Riley Stephens.”

On Monday, scores of people paid tribute to Stephens and the hundreds of thousands of other U.S. soldiers who have died in battle.

Beneath a cloud-filled sky, mourners gathered in Bluebonnet Hills Memorial Park in Colleyville, Mount Olivet Cemetery in Fort Worth and Laurel Land Memorial Park in Crowley, among other locations.

At Moore in Arlington, attendees filled rows of white chairs, waved American flags and sang The Star-Spangled Banner and God Bless the U.S.A.

Arlington Mayor Jeff Williams, who offered an official proclamation, told the story of his grandfather returning home from World War II after serving in Italy. When he approached his home after the long absence, his daughter called to her mother that there was a stranger at the front door.

“It was a new day,” Williams said, “and they all had to reconnect.”

McCumbee, a featured speaker, shared stories of friends who lost their lives in combat. Many, like Stephens, had volunteered for a deployment. McCumbee, a member of Special Forces, said the rights Americans have should never be taken for granted.

“We want the right to elect our leaders, bear arms and have free speech,” said McCumbee, who previously served in the Tomb Guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery. “But we also want the right to drive a car, throw a baseball with our kid and have a barbecue with friends. In many countries, people do not have those basic rights and freedoms.”

Tarrant County Commissioner Andy Nguyen, also a featured speaker, said we owe American soldiers a debt of gratitude.

Nguyen, who arrived in the United States in 1981 as a refugee from Vietnam, said this country gave his family a second shot at life and continues to serve as a beacon for the rest of the world.

“Without their sacrifices, there would be no America, no Texas, no freedom around the world, no human rights, no economic prosperity,” Nguyen said. “The fresh air we breathe, the lives we live, our futures, we owe to them. Know that, and pay it forward.”

At Mount Olivet in Fort Worth, more than 100 people gathered for the cemetery’s 87th Memorial Day service. Capt. Mike Steffen, the commanding officer of Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base, urged attendees to not limit their remembrance of fallen soldiers to a holiday.

“We owe them more than just one day,” Steffen said. “We must help other generations understand. Their stories deserve telling and re-telling. Find a way to tell their story.”

Staff writer Ryan Osborne contributed to this report.

This story was originally published May 30, 2016 at 2:42 PM with the headline "Memorial Day observances draw crowds across Tarrant."