Quantock: 'Freedom is a powerful word ... millions have given their lives'

Pulaski County Daily News ^ | 5/31/2011 | Darrell Todd Maurina

[darrellmaurina]

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (May 31, 2011) — Speaking a day before the funeral of Spc. Bradley Melton in Rolla, who was killed by an improvised explosive device earlier this month while doing route clearance work in Afghanistan as part of the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, the commander of Fort Leonard Wood told those assembled at the Missouri State Veterans Cemetery next to the post that Americans need to use Memorial Day to remember the reason for which servicemembers died. “Freedom is a powerful word. It is one that many people, thousands and thousands and millions have given their lives for,” said Maj. Gen. David Quantock. “The Middle Eastern countries are talking about this ‘Arab Spring.’ ... What does this ‘Arab Spring’ mean? It means that for millions and millions of Arabs, they’re seeing the taste of freedom; they’re feeling the taste of freedom, they see the taste of freedom on their TVs in Iraq and Afghanistan, where they’re seeing people vote — vote for their leaders.”