KANSAS CITY, Mo. — On this holiday, many people have the day off, but one man is working to make sure people will always remember the meaning behind Memorial Day.
National World War I Museum volunteer and Vietnam veteran Bob Dudley said he loves sharing his story along with the history.
"I'm a retired U.S. Army field artillery colonel," Dudley said.
Memorial Day always brings up memories for Dudley, especially of the days leading up to it nearly 50 years ago.
"Twenty-one, May, 1971. We took the normal evening rocket attack and when that happens, soldiers scrambled to find some sort of cover," Dudley said. "And unfortunately one 22-millimeter rocket with a delayed fuse penetrated that bunker, killed 30 soldiers and wounded 33."
Dudley said Memorial Day is a holiday of remembrance.
"It always hits home, the memory of losing those comrades," Dudley said. "And it sort of begs the question, 'How do you remember the soldiers you served with? The ones that got killed or wounded?' Unit history — particularly the unit that's been deactivated."
In the U.S. Army, Dudley served in the 5th Division.
"Even though I served almost 30 years in the army and many units , I belong to that society, because that's the one I served with in combat," Dudley said.
That unit is now deactivated.
"If they're never activated again, then the members start dying off. But not only does the society go away, but truly the history of those units can go away," Dudley said. "What do we do with all this — all the history, all the memorabilia that we have? How do you deal with a deactivated unit when no one else is fulfilling the ranks?"
He said there are reunions and a quarterly magazine to remember the works of the division. There is also a section in the museum that highlights the work of the 5th Division.
"The 5th Division served WWI, WWII, Vietnam and Panama," Dudley said. "We had 4,507 members who were killed during those four."
On this Memorial Day, he hopes not only his unit, but all those who served our country and paid the ultimate sacrifice will always be remembered and honored.
"That's the cost of freedom," Dudley said. "Memorial Day is the cost of freedom."
Dudley said as a volunteer, it's always a great to engage with visitors.
For a look of events the WWI Museum is hosting on Memorial Day, click here.
