By Dan Spalding
News Now Warsaw
WARSAW — Thursday’s ceremony honoring U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Aaron Seal 19 years after he died in combat, still brings out deep emotions for his family.
The 23-year-old combat engineer with 2nd Platoon, Bravo Company, died while engaged in operations in Al Anbar Province.
On Thursday, he was remembered during a somber ceremony that was part of Zimmer Biomet’s annual Memorial Day wreath-laying ceremony held at the Zimmer Biomet Center Lake Pavilion.
Seal was a graduate of Elkhart Memorial High School in 2001. He joined the Marine Corps in 2003 and was deployed to Iraq in 2006.
Seal’s family, including his parents, David and Lori Dunn, attended the event which included community leaders, law enforcement and members of the public.
US Army Reserve Col. AJ Besik was the guest speaker who acknowledged the family and their loss and spoke of the importance of Memorial Day, which is Monday.
“Memorial Day is for those who first served our country and those who still serve today,” Besik said. “Remember that as Americans, they gave their lives and their fortunes for the freedoms we enjoy.”
“Why we celebrate Memorial Day is to remember every single one of those people, regardless of whether it was in the middle of combat or in an accident in training, to move the ball forward to keep us free to enjoy our lives we have here at home,” Besik said.
The Dunns were presented with a plaque at the ceremony.
David Dunn thanked Zimmer Biomet and the organizers for honoring his son and spoke briefly about his family’s emotions that continue to linger 19 years later.
“When you lose your child, you don’t stop loving them. You just kind of push those feelings down,” Dunn said. “At a moment like this, they all come to the surface, and it’s a bittersweet moment for my family,” David Dunn said.
