CENTERBURG — The annual Memorial Day observance in Centerburg hit a little closer to home this year.
Community members gathered at Eastview Cemetery to not only honor all fallen soldiers, but also to pay tribute to Centerburg native Capt. Peter Hayden Chapman.
This year marks the 50th year since Chapman was shot down while flying a rescue mission in Vietnam. As keynote speaker CMSgt. Samuel Given, 121st Air Refueling Wing, noted, “when his brothers-in-arms called, he responded with a resounding ‘Here am I. Send me.’” (Isaiah 6:8)
A Centerburg High School grad, Chapman played football and marched in the band. Given said that even in high school, Chapman was uniting people, providing hope and helping others to succeed.
“As a nation, as friends and family of Capt. Peter Chapman, we will never be able to measure the positive influence, the number of lives he touched or saved and the many he provided hope,” Given said.
In 1973 Chapman’s family started the Peter Hayden Chapman award. The award goes to a male senior at CHS in recognition of outstanding character, leadership, citizenship, and who displays a wel-rounded personality.
Many of those award winners attended Monday’s observance in tribute to Chapman. Given said that as a community, Centerburg residents give special meaning to the phrase “never forget.”
“A man who paid the ultimate price, looking out for the underdog and helping those in their time of need. Capt. Peter Hayden Chapman II is one of many heroes we honor today, all of them having paid the ultimate price for our nation and its freedoms,” Given said.
Of other heroes who have fallen through the years, Given said, “These great men and women laid down their lives to provide hope for our nation and the world in its time of need. America and its fallen patriots stand as a beacon of hope for those oppressed throughout the world.
“Ours is not a perfect nation; however, we strive to be better every day and to be an example to the world, that freedom is to be cherished.”
As part of the tribute to Chapman, Brad McDavid, Chapman’s classmate and director of athletic bands at the University of Washington, arranged for a special appearance of the U.S. Air Force’s Band of Flight. The band performed at the cemetery and also at the high school later in the afternoon.
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