Mount Pulaski honors veteran
sacrifices with double services
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[May 25, 2020]
On Monday, May 25th, the Mount Pulaski area
held Memorial Day Services at both Mount Pulaski Cemetery and
Steenbergen Cemetery honoring the memories of those who sacrificed
their lives for our country.
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Both ceremonies began with the raising of the
American flag followed by an instrumental version of the
Star-Spangled Banner.
Reverend Jonathan Buescher provided an invocation reflecting on the
great courage of those who made honorable sacrifices for freedom. He
said the pandemic this year gives more appreciation to what it means
to live in dangerous times. He also expressed sympathy for people
whose family members are in harm’s way.
Mount Pulaski Mayor Matt Bobell thanked everyone for coming and the
American Legion and Ladies’ Auxiliary for helping set up the
Memorial Day Service. Bobell said the Legion and Auxiliary have
hosted the service for the past 40 years. He called it a great way
for the community to gather and honor those who have fallen.
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This year’s speaker was Colonel Stanley Manes, a retired U.S. Army
veteran.
Before speaking Manes honored Legion scholarship recipient Isabella
Wade. Wade was the Mount Pulaski High School class valedictorian and
won a Biliteracy Award for Spanish. Wade will be attending Lincoln
Land Community College to study pre-med.
Manes said many people think of Memorial Day as the start of the
summer season, but that misses the reason. The commemoration started
May 30th, 1866 in Iowa with slaves celebrating their freedom. By
1886, it became an official holiday
Memorial Day was once called Decoration Day. As some still do,
people decorated graves for those who fought in battle and
sacrificed their lives.
Manes said we must remember the fallen and those who fought in
defense of freedom, so their deaths are not in vain.
In 2018 in Europe, Manes said the 100th Anniversary of the World War
I was commemorated with poppies. Back in 1915, Lieutenant Colonel
John McCrae inspired by the poppies in Flander’s Field in Belgium
wrote a poem about the many lives lost in Flanders during the first
World War. The poem talks about the poppies that grow between the
crosses, row by row, marking the soldier’s places. It also described
their tragic deaths, and honors the dead.
Manes said the overall message of the poem is to keep the torch
burning high in the name of democracy.
As he closed his address, Manes thanked everyone for the support. He
said to remember the service and sacrifices of the fallen.
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Other parts of the ceremony at Mount Pulaski Cemetery
included the raising the colors. The placement of wreaths was done
by the American Legion, Sons of the American Legion, the Ladies’
Auxiliary, Phoenix Fire Department, Mount Pulaski EMS, and the local
Boy Scout troop. Mount Pulaski youth then placed flowers around the
veteran’s memorial plaque.
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At the Steenbergen Cemetery, 123 flags that honor veterans from
various wars were displayed for the holiday. A roster listed the
names of the veterans honored. Mane said the Avenue of Flags was
inspiring.
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The events wrapped up with a Color Guard from the Mount Pulaski
American Legion Post 447 and Mount Pulaski SAL Squadron 447
providing a 21-gun salute followed by the playing of Taps.
[Angela Reiners]
Related Link:
https://www.poetryfoundation.
org/poems/47380/in-flanders-fields
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