Memorial Day Service in Hebron with guest speaker Retired United States Air Force Lt. Col. Ben Votipka

Nancy McGill May 30, 2024June 3, 2024

Good morning Ladies and Gentlemen,

For those that don’t know me, I’m Ben Votipka and grew up on a dairy

farm over by Alexandria. I’m number 12 of 13 kids born to Charles and

Fern Votipka. My dad served as a Combat medic in WWII and his flag

flies today over there…

I graduated from Hebron High School 42 years ago in the Class of ’82.

It is an honor and privilege to be here today to celebrate Memorial Day

with you all.

Before I talk about why we are here, I first want to give thanks and show

my respect for several people you may all know.

First is my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, for He has guided and

protected me all these years.

I want to thank my wonderful wife Pam for tolerating me these past

38 years, and my three sons who endured the many moves as they grew

up.

I want to thank my Parents, Grand Parents, all my brothers and sisters

and their wives and husbands for all the lessons they taught me and the

legacy of Love for our country and the desire to honor those who gave the

ultimate sacrifice for this great nation.

I want to thank all my teachers for the many lessons I learned that

served me well in military career. Just to highlight a few: Mr Goodrich – I

am a much better pilot because he helped me understand how equipment

works. Coach Shuler – The Track and Cross-Country training helped me

Max every PT test and receive several Fleet of Foot awards. Coach

Desmond – the leadership training on the Wrestling team help me be a

better leader and Father, his sayings like “Leaders are Made, Not Born”

and “Luck is when Preparation meets Opportunity.” Bill and Cindy Kroll

who taught me to seek and serve God when I went out to the wide world.

Finally, I want to thank the wonderful men and women of Thayer

County who helped mold me and take the many lessons of Farm living

and Small town living into a world that looks at you funny when you try to

explain how we grew up and the busy lives we lived farming and our love

for our country.

Several years ago, my youngest son asked me if the Military turned

me into the person I am. I told him ‘No, what the military did was to

allow me to use the many lessons I learned and fulfill the Old Army

recruitment ad: “Be All You Can Be.” The military didn’t care where you

came from or what school you went to, If you were willing to work hard

and learn new things and be a leader, the military would give you the

opportunity.

And I want to thank John for his service and for inviting me to speak

today. By the way. John is married to my cousin Rita Hergott. There are

80 of us Ralph and Fern DeWald cousins and the looks I get on people’s

faces when I tell them I am one of 13 kids and one of 80 cousins are just

priceless.

SO WHY ARE WE HERE ON THIS MEMORIAL DAY verses hanging

out at the lake or sleeping in on a day off from work like so many

Americans who like having this long weekend but don’t really understand

the reason or meaning behind it.

I would like to put a spin on the three words often heard in the military:

DUTY, HONOR, COUNTRY

But before I explain what I mean, I want to speak on the origins of our

Memorial Day celebration. Many different cities around the country claim

to have been the first to Memorialize soldiers who made the ultimate

sacrifice for their country so we may never know what community gets the

credit, but we do know they all had the same desire to remember the

fallen.

While stationed at Columbus AFB, Mississippi, We attended a

Memorial Day celebration and they claimed to have been the first to do so.

After the Civil War many families of the fallen soldiers from the South

went to pay their respects when they noticed that many graves of Northern

soldiers were in the same cemetery. So these families took it upon

themselves to Honor all the war dead in the cemetery and laid flowers and

wreaths at all the graves and prayed for the families of all those laid to rest

for they understood that when a community and a country doesn’t Honor

those who fought and died for their country, then over time, you won’t

have men and women who are willing to make that sacrifice because they

will believe they live in an ungrateful country that isn’t deserving of their

sacrifice.

DUTY, HONOR COUNTRY

Like our parents and grandparents before us, WE have a DUTY to

remember those who died in service to our great nation. We have a DUTY

to our Children and Grandchildren to make sure they understand WHY we

celebrate Memorial Day. And we have a DUTY to our Friends and Coworkers

to ensure they don’t just think of it as a LONG WEEKEND or

just another Federal Holiday.

As President Ronald Regan famously said: “Freedom is never more

than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children

in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for

them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our

children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United

States where men were free.”

Because I love and enjoy the Freedoms we have today and want my Great,

Great Grandchildren to have those same freedoms, I believe it is my

DUTY to ensure they understand what Memorial Day is about and that

they themselves REMEMBER and HONOR those who made the Ultimate

sacrifice for this great nation.

How do we HONOR the Fallen? I believe like we are doing today, by

taking time out of our day to gather and spend time reflecting on their

service and their sacrifice. I believe MEMORIAL DAY shouldn’t be the

only day we remember them. Every time we see the American Flag

Waiving high in the air we should pause and give thanks for those who

sacrificed to keep the Stars and Stripes flying high for all to see. At a Ball

game or any event where we sing the National Anthem or say the Pledge

of Allegiance, we should take a second to think about those who fought

and died for our freedoms.

We HONOR the Fallen by Praying for their Families and descendants and

asking for God’s comfort on them because they too sacrificed and didn’t

get to enjoy spending time with their loved one.

Now let me talk about COUNTRY this MEMORIAL DAY. I have

traveled the world and have seen first-hand how miserable the lives are of

those who live under Communism and Socialism and Dictatorships.

Because these oppressed people have little to no freedom and everything

they do and say is monitored by their governments, so very few speak out

against the oppression for fear of retribution.

As the Military saying goes “When the PRIVATES aren’t complaining

about something, You know something is wrong and your troops are

scared of their leaders and don’t respect them.” I am thankful and grateful

I live in a country that has had men and women give the ultimate sacrifice

defending all our Freedoms, Our Constitution and our Bill of Rights.

When I meet someone who uses their First Amendment Freedom to trash

talk America and say how bad things are here, the first thing I ask them is

“What did you do last MEMORIAL DAY” did you HONOR the fallen

who defended your freedom to DISS America. I then offer to pay for

them to Fly to CUBA with me on a Christian Mission trip to take a look

firsthand at a country destroyed by Communism, where even the Doctors

can’t get Asprin or Cough medicine for themselves. Where the average

monthly income is $17 a month and where people who live only 5 miles

from Havana have never traveled to the Capital because their Government

won’t give them permission and even if they did, they wouldn’t have extra

money to spend there.

I believe our Country: The UNITED STATES of America has been

Blessed by God because we HONOR HIM, HONOR and Remember those

who have sacrificed their lives for our Freedoms and we care for the

Families of the Fallen.

But I do believe if we don’t take seriously our DUTY to HONOR the

Fallen, the DUTY to educated our Children and Grandchildren and our

Friends and Co-Workers what MEMORIAL DAY is about, we will

eventually end up in a country that just thinks it’s just another Federal

Holiday off of work and eventually we will have a country where no one

is willing to sacrifice for the Freedoms we now enjoy.

As we leave here today, I encourage each and everyone here to Text or

Call or Post on Social Media to your Family and Friends your thoughts

about why you Celebrate MEMORIAL DAY. You might be the one

person that ignites a renewed understanding of the importance of

MEMORIAL DAY.

Thank you again for allowing me to come and speak.

May God Bless you and May God continue to Bless the UNITED

STATES of AMERICA.