In Belleville Memorial Day tribute, leader recalls teen’s sacrifice for her country
In his Memorial Day tribute on Monday for military service members who died while fighting for their country, Belleville American Legion leader Gary Thomas praised the call to duty by a Connecticut teenager.
Thomas, post commander of American Legion Post 1937 in Belleville, told the Memorial Day ceremony audience at Walnut Hill Cemetery the story about Army Spec. Cindy Beaudoin.
Beaudoin had a back condition that could have exempted her from serving in the Gulf War in 1991 as a medic with her National Guard unit but she wanted to serve her country like her father did in the Vietnam War.
Thomas, who cited a Hartford Courant article about Beaudoin, noted that just hours after President George H. W. Bush had declared a cease-fire, Beaudoin died on Feb. 28, 1991, when her convoy hit a land mine.
“She was only 19,” Thomas said.
Thomas said Beaudoin had written a letter to her parents as she prepared for her tour.
“I do not come here to be a hero,” she wrote. “I came here because my country needed me … If I should die while helping to achieve this, then I did not die in vain.”
Thomas picked it up from there.
“Cindy Beaudoin did not die in vain, neither did any other American who we honor here today,” Thomas said.
“But we should always remember that the decisions leading to war are those (made by) policymakers, not the veterans themselves.”
American Legion Post 1937 hosted the event and Thomas said other Belleville area groups that assisted in the ceremony included DAV Chapter 24, Catholic War Veterans Post 370, American Legion Post 550, American Legion Post 1255, American Legion Post 2007 and VFW Post 1739. Also, members of the Belleville West High School band performed.
This story was originally published May 31, 2021 at 3:39 PM.
