The way to honor service men and women who died is to live a life with purpose–and do it now
Justin Jordan has years of experience helping veterans, service members and first responders suffering from chemical dependency and psychological injuries.
He’s also worked as a non-commissioned officer in charge of base mortuary affairs while he was in the U.S. Air Force. In this position, he ensured that the bodies of deceased service members made it to their families with dignity and respect and made a promise to them: “We will not forget.”
Jordan, a Henderson native who now lives in Bandera, Texas, has seen firsthand what servicemen and women go through, their deaths, the pain their families endure and also the recovery that many who make it back alive must go through to live a life after the horrors of war.
Jordan himself was diagnosed with severe post-traumatic stress disorder in 2009, medically retired in 2013, and has gone through intensive therapy.
As featured speaker at Henderson’s 78th annual Memorial Day service, Jordan focused on the lives that were cut short so that U.S. citizens can live in freedom and what those still here should do in their honor.
“How do we honor the time they didn’t get to live?” Jordan said.
His answer: To pursue your lives with purpose, passion and joy, to stop putting off your dreams for some day later. “Your some day is now,” he said.
Jordan wondered what deceased service members might say to those of us still living.
“I believe they’d say, ‘Don’t waste it,’” he said, adding that they’d also say, “‘Live the life I didn’t get to.’”
“Commit to living a life worthy of their sacrifice,” he said.
Jordan spoke to scores of people sitting amid some 6,200 crosses that are put up every year, a project of the American Legion Post 40 Honor Guard and its commander, Jim Hanley. The crosses are in remembrance of the military men and women from Henderson or with ties to Henderson and represent those who served in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf Wars, Afghanistan and other conflicts.
The Memorial Day service, coordinated by the Henderson Veterans Memorial Foundation, also featured laying of wreaths for each branch of the U.S. military, the Missing Man Honors Ceremony to honor service men and women who are missing in action or prisoners of war, renditions of military branch songs, patriotic songs, prayers, and a rifle salute by the American Legion Post 40 Honor Guard. The ceremony ended with the playing of Taps.
Lt. Col. Heather Crooks, USAF retired, acted as the master of ceremonies, her second year in the role after taking over for longtime emcee Col. Jim Smith, who died in April 2024.
Crooks, in her remarks, mentioned Henderson veterans, Pvt. Grant Esther Marshall Thomas and Pvt. 1st Class James O. Stone—two of the thousands of veteran’s names on the Central Park crosses.
“Behind every cross here, there is a story of service,” she said.
