Dobbins Heights hosts Memorial Day event

DOBBINS HEIGHTS — Dobbins Heights held its annual Memorial Day ceremony last Friday, paying tribute to both fallen service members and veterans who continue to serve their communities. With heartfelt words and a shared sense of purpose, the event honored those who made the ultimate sacrifice and those who still carry the spirit of service.

“We’re here to honor the fallen and the living because we appreciate all the service that all of the armed forces give us and protect us in the way that they do. With this, this is a labor of love and I relish the chance to honor our vets,” said Dobbins Heights Mayor Pro-Tem Tyre Holloway, as he welcomed attendees and opened the program.

The guest speaker, SGM Derrick D. Chambers, was introduced by Mayor Pro-Tem Holloway, who highlighted the distinguished veteran’s decades of military service. A native of Morven, North Carolina, Chambers enlisted in the U.S. Army in August 1989 as a combat engineer and served for over 30 years before retiring in 2019. His leadership roles included supervisor, air defense systems manager, platoon sergeant, first sergeant, inspector general sergeant and sergeant major.

In his opening remarks, Chambers took a moment to recognize the living veterans in attendance.

“I heard Mister Holloway talk earlier about this occasion. Memorial Day is to honor the fallen soldiers but also to celebrate the living. At this time, all those that served, I’d just like to give you a nice round of applause for all your service,” he said as the audience responded with applause.

Chambers spoke about the duty to honor the fallen beyond just one day of recognition.

“As US citizens, it is our responsibility to remember our nation’s fallen men and women. We should never forget those who their service and sacrifice, know all too well the cost of freedom. Or course, one day is simply not enough to honor these men and women. We must honor them every day through invaluable gift that they have given us in heaven to create a stronger nation and a better world. Remember this gift, which was secured through their sacrifice, starts with the process of us attempting to repay these heroes,” he said.

Mayor Pro-Tem Holloway also shared how his time as a cadet left a lasting impression on him and helped shape his values.

“As a former cadet myself, we were taught to be motivated citizens and I would like to add an extra caveat to that— motivate to be good citizens all day, every day — even when no one’s watching,” he said.

Closing remarks came from Dobbins Heights Mayor Antonio Blue, who commended SGM Chambers for his accomplishments.

“Those of you who don’t know, to make sergeant major, you’re in the top 10% in the United States Army. You’re the best of the best. You’re really best of the 1% because when you look at the numbers, 10% is not us, we’re only the 1%, so for SGM Chambers to be a country boy from Morven, North Carolina, and making it to Sergeant Major, that’s saying a lot. He rose to the top,” said Mayor Blue.

Mayor Blue reminded attendees of the real cost of freedom and the importance of remembering those sacrifices.

“We’re grateful for all of you who have come out. Just remember, some gave some, but some gave it all. When you start to think about it, in Richmond County, we have about five or six people who died actually in combat. When you start thinking about these things, think about someone who sacrificed their life for you to be able to do what you need to do every day. Don’t take it for granted.”

Before concluding the ceremony, Mayor Pro-Tem Holloway invited attending veterans to stand and share the years of their service.