Fallen armed forces members honored on Memorial Day at National World War II Museum

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – U.S. war veterans and their families gathered on Memorial Day (May 27) at the National World War II Museum to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Rebecca Christy, a Gold Star mother and daughter, choked back tears at the ceremony as she spoke of her late son, Navy Sr. Chief Petty Officer Joshua Austin Christy, and her late father, Maj. Richard Marion Martin.

She said her son was an explosive ordinance disposal technician and a Bronze Star recipient, who was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer.

“Josh would call us from Guam,” she said. “We knew about the double vision and the headaches, but Josh was always upbeat and never complained.”

She said his cancer was linked to his military duties.

“At the age of 35, he passed away on Oct. 24, 2022. It was determined that his brain cancer was service-related and was most likely caused by exposures he received while doing the job he loved,” Christy said.

She told the audience she lost her father when she was only 3 years old.

“I thought about my own mother, and how in April of 1958, she too was handed a flag, the flag from my father’s casket, the flag from his military funeral. I realized in that moment that I am also a Gold Star daughter and that’s my dad in the middle,” Christy said.

Martin died in an aircraft incident.

“In the latter part of his career, he was with the 386th Bomb Squad at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida, which was part of the Strategic Air Command,” Christy said. “On April 15, his crew took off in their B-47 with thunderstorms in the area. Five minutes after takeoff, due to a metal fatigue crack in the wing further compromised by the turbulent weather, the left wing separated from the fuselage, causing a violent roll. The plane exploded over Sunshine Skyway Bridge.”

Veterans from different military conflicts attended the ceremony, including 94-year-old Albert Ambrose Henderson, who fought in the Korean War. He was joined by his wife and children in commemorating Memorial Day, and expressed gratitude for making it back home from the war alive.

“I’m happy to be back and to be able to help somebody,” Henderson said. “And to see that they grow up to help other people is a blessing.”

Bill Arwin served in the Army but said he did not see combat.

“I joined the Army right after Korea and I was out before Vietnam started, so I spent my entire career in the U.S.,” Alwin said.

Adam Coste served during the Iraq War and now works at the museum.

“We think of the Gold Star families who still bear the sacrifices of their loved ones,” Coste said.

Another museum employee, Maggie Hartley, said the holiday is really for “thinking about those who paid the ultimate sacrifice of giving their lives in service to our country.”

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