Memorial Day in Portage: Honor what the fallen fought for

Honoring the nation’s war dead includes working to ensure that surviving veterans get the services they’ve earned, members of the state and federal House Veterans Affairs Committees said during the annual Memorial Day service.

“We must always remember those who have given their lives in service to our country, to honor their sacrifice by working to create a more perfect America,” U.S. Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., said.

“Soon, 1 out of every 5 veterans, 20% of our veterans, are going to be women. We’ve got to make sure the health care they receive is every bit as good and as comprehensive as their male counterparts.”

Takano acknowledged that some members of the service, particularly members of minority groups, weren’t always welcomed home from their military service. Even when some Americans didn’t love them back, “these service members of all different backgrounds believed that our country was worth fighting for and that we were worth sacrificing their lives for."

“We are the greatest country on Earth not because we think of ourselves as the perfect country but as a country that strives always for a more perfect union,” he said.

Takano was chairman of the Veterans Affairs Committee when Frank Mrvan joined Congress in 2020.

“Frank hit the ground running,” Takano said, and became chairman of the Subcommittee on Technology Modernization.

“That’s kind of a high-falutin’ term. You may be scratching your head and wondering, what does the chairman of the Subcommittee on Technology Modernization do? It’s a very important job.” The subcommittee provides oversight over integration of electronic medical records between the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs.

“I’m sad to say there have been some tragedies as a result of that lack of continuity and smooth transition,” Takano said. “Frank inherited a problem when he got to Congress. We’ve tried three times before and spent billions of dollars and frankly wasted billions of dollars.

“I’m happy to tell you Frank has displayed excellent leadership,” writing the VA Electronic Health Records Transparency Act and the VA Expiring Authority Act to solve two pieces of this problem.

Mrvan, D-Hammond, didn’t mention his subcommittee work in his remarks.

Very often Memorial Day gets confused as a day of sales or barbecues, but "today we are here to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice,” he said. “Sometimes those families also have made the ultimate sacrifices by their sons or daughters not coming back.

“We are the greatest country in the world based on what we believe in: Democracy.”

Mrvan said honoring those who sacrificed their lives for the country involves making sure the veterans who survive receive the benefits they were promised.

“As we are on Veterans Affairs, as your member of Congress, my job and my mission is to make sure health care is accessible, mental health care is accessible, that we tackle veterans suicides, that we make sure there is mental health access,” Mrvan said.

“We’re here today to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, but let us never forget those Gold Star families who still live in our communities, in Portage, in Northwest Indiana,” and give them access to the support they need.

For Mayor Sue Lynch, “Frank is a true fighter for our veterans.”

Rep. Chuck Moseley, D-Portage, a member of the Indiana House Veterans Affairs and Public Safety Committee, said he wants to help soldiers learn how to be civilians again and to provide the resources they need to do so — health care, families, good jobs and the opportunity to live the American dream that they fought so hard for.

Fire Chief Randy Wilkening honored veterans but particularly first responders like Frank Gilbert, a firefighter/paramedic who died 26 years ago from injuries suffered during an ambulance call.

“He was our only firefighter who died in the line of duty,” he said. “I could talk about Frank and all the things he accomplished all day long.”

Gilbert was an active member of the U.S. Naval Reserves.

Firefighters laid a wreath in the morning at Gilbert Park in his memory. “In my hat, I always keep this funeral card from Frank’s funeral,” Wilkening said as he removed the card to show it to the audience.