DECATUR - Light winds and drizzle Monday morning were nothing compared to the sacrifices made by generations of soldiers defending our nation.

That's why about 250 people didn't let the weather stop them from marking Memorial Day at the annual ceremony by the Veterans Assistance Commission of Macon County in Fairview Park's large pavilion.

Dave and Pat Watts, both 60, of Decatur try to come every year to honor their fathers, who served in World War II, and their belief that freedom is not free.

"We can't begin to imagine what some people have gone through for their belief in God and country," she said. "This place should be full."

Speakers at the service called for the same measure of devotion, but none did so more passionately than master of ceremonies David Freyling, commission chairman.

Promising to do everything in his power to help, Freyling called for a renewed commitment from citizens and leaders to make long-standing plans for a World War II monument in Decatur happen.

"There are some smaller towns around us that have monuments, but we don't have one," he said. "We must bring this to fruition while we still have some World War II vets around to appreciate it, but we're burning daylight and haven't got much left."

Freyling spoke for campaign chairman E.E. "Pete" Nicholls, 84, of Decatur who was unable to attend Monday's ceremony because of poor health.

Interviewed by telephone, Nicholls said the project's main stumbling block is finding a location. He said the Decatur Civic Center board turned down a request to place it in a grassy area along Franklin Street, and he's fighting an uphill battle with the Decatur Park Board to put it in Chandler Park along Lake Decatur near St. Mary's Hospital.

"It would be an ideal location," he said. "When veterans like me are in St. Mary's, they could look out the window and see it."

Nicholls, who served in the Army from 1942 to 1946, said raising the remaining funds needed to build the $250,000 monument will be no problem once the location is set. About $47,000 has been donated. "We need that memorial in Decatur, and we need it now," he said.

Other speakers at Monday's ceremony included state Rep. Bob Flider, D-Mount Zion, who reminded his audience that the Grand Army of the Republic formed in Decatur shortly after the Civil War and that General John A. Logan, its commander in chief, first proclaimed May 30 as Memorial Day in 1868.

"Memorial Day has its roots in Decatur, and that's something we should be proud of and mindful of," Flider said.

Patriotic music was sung by Leah Brown, 21, a 2005 graduate of Eisenhower High School, and Mariah Henderson, 14, who just completed eighth grade at Meridian Middle School. Accompanying Brown on keyboard for "Battle Hymn of the Republic" was 18-year-old Eric Burgett, a 2008 graduate of Warrensburg-Latham High School.

Representatives of 16 veterans groups and auxiliaries also placed memorial wreaths during the ceremony.

The keynote speaker was Moweaqua native Richard Hopkins, 45, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves and command judge advocate with the 206th Regional Support Command in Springfield. He is the son of Elsie and Rudy Escobar of Decatur and the late Paul Hopkins and has a sister, Susan Paradee, living in Moweaqua.

Hopkins said numbers in the U.S. military and attendance at Memorial Day observances have surged since 9/11, after dropping to 50-year lows after the fall of the Berlin Wall, but he urged those in attendance to do more than remember the sacrifices of others.

"We can hardly share the reasons that make this day sacred without imparting them to those who come after us," he said. "Memorial Day should celebrate the sacrifices willingly given by our fallen soldiers, but the lessons learned should carry throughout the entire year."

Theresa Churchill can be reached at tchurchill@herald-review.com or 421-7978.