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Fort Polk and JRTC holds Memorial Day Ceremony

Archived as originally published. Information reflects the date of this article.

Fort Polk and the Joint Readiness Training Center held a Memorial Day Ceremony to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the service of their country.

Among those in attendance, Debby Cleghorn says her father, Captain Everett Dennis Keaton, served in the Army in the Vietnam War. He was an NCO stationed at Fort Polk.

“It’s a day to reflect and remember. In our family that’s really important,” Cleghorn said. “His personality was all military. He was a career person. He was going to make a career out of it.”

Keaton was killed in Vietnam on January 20, 1970.

“He was a small town boy from Waverly, Ohio,” Cleghorn said. “Four year ago we went and traveled to Ohio because they named a section of the highway ‘Captain Everett “Butch” Keaton’, because people called him Butch, so we traveled up there for the dedication of the highway. That was a big honor.”

Cleghorn says she wants to remind people that today has a meaning.

“It means it is not Veterans Day,” Cleghorn said. “It’s a time to reflect and remember those who have passed on whether they were killed in action or if they died in later years.”

Sandra McCoy says all three of her children have served in the military.

“This day means a lot to me because I think of all the good memories and all the other troops that served our country that are no longer with us.” McCoy said.

Her youngest daughter, Staff Sergeant Donisha Stroman, served in Iraq before coming back to Louisiana to be a recruiter.

“She reached for the stars before she left this earth, and she left a legacy behind.”

Donisha was killed by a hit and run driver, in Lake Charles in October 2016.

“Memorial Day means a lot to me because my daughter served this country wholeheartedly,” McCoy said. “I have three daughters who all went into the military. Single mother and I raised all three of them. She was my baby.”

Two different stories from families of different backgrounds brought to Fort Polk for one purpose: to honor their loved ones and those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

https://www.kplctv.com/2019/05/28/fort-polk-jrtc-holds-memorial-day-ceremony/