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Brig. Gen. J. Stewart Goodwin urges solemn remembrance at Carmel Memorial Day ceremony
Summary
At the 2026 Memorial Day ceremony at Veterans Plaza in Carmel, Brig. Gen. J. Stewart Goodwin urged attendees to remember the holiday’s solemn purpose, tracing its origins and urging residents not to call it 'happy Memorial Day.' The event included a poem, invocation, musical honors and a 21‑gun salute.
Tony Green, a retired Air Force veteran, opened the City of Carmel's 2026 Memorial Day ceremony at Veterans Plaza and invited residents to honor service members who "made the ultimate sacrifice." He introduced veterans' organizations that presented the colors and named local musicians and volunteers taking part in the program.
Brigadier General J. Stewart Goodwin delivered the keynote address, tracing Memorial Day to 19th‑century Decoration Day observances and describing the poppy tradition tied to Flanders Fields. Goodwin said the holiday should be a solemn time of remembrance and asked the audience to avoid casual greetings: "Please do not say happy Memorial Day because there's nothing happy about it." He also described military death‑notification procedures and, as part of his remarks, said "Over 48,000 Hoosier veterans have paid the ultimate sacrifice since Indiana statehood in 1816" and cited a national survey he said found that 75% of people did not know the meaning of Memorial Day — both statements presented as his claims.
The program included an invocation led by the Carmel fire department chaplain (introduced earlier in the program as Dave Hucke), a poem titled "This is Memorial Day" delivered by U.S. Air Force veteran Leticia Poblano Clark and a vocal performance of the national anthem by Army veteran Blair Clark. Attendees were invited to place carnations at the base of the Veterans Plaza statue while pianist Chad Hetrick performed.
Ceremonial honors concluded the program: the Carmel Fire Department honor guard pipe and drum band performed "Amazing Grace," a 21‑gun salute was presented by VFW Post 10003 and American Legion Post 150, and taps was played. Tony Green closed the event and invited attendees to a post‑ceremony reception at VFW Post 10003; meals for veterans were noted as complimentary.
The ceremony combined historical context, personal recollections and formal military honors. The record contains a naming inconsistency for the chaplain who delivered the benediction (the program introduced the invocation chaplain as Dave Hucke, while a later reference in the transcript gives a different spelling); the article attributes the invocation to the chaplain introduced onstage and notes the discrepancy.
