Millersburg Memorial Day service honors lost local soldiers

by Peter Jakey-Managing Editor

There was a mood of quiet solemnity among the attendees at Monday’s Memorial Day service at Riverside Cemetery along Walker Highway in Millersburg.  Ole Glory snapped at half staff as a steady breeze blew through.

The ceremony, which was led by master of ceremonies Dean Storms, featured the reading of the names of service members who have passed away and are buried at Riverside and other nearby cemeteries.

CPL. ED SZYMONIAK, 90, who served in the Pacific Theater of Operation during World War II, presented the wreath during Monday’s ceremony. He is a lifelong Millersburg resident. (Photo by Peter Jakey)

 

Following the playing of the National Anthem, Storms greeted veterans and others and thanked them for coming out “on a beautiful sunshiny day.

“We are putting this on, not as any organization, but as veterans ourselves, for the dedication and remembrances of our passed comrades, and we thank you for that,” said Storms.

“I read last year, and I think it needs repeating:

“It is the solider, not the president, who gives us democracy. It is the soldier, not the Congress, that takes care of us. It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech. It is the solider, and not the campus organizer, who has given the freedom to demonstrate.

“It is the solider, who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag and whose coffin is draped by the flag, that allows the protester to burn the flag.” He said it was written by Father Dennis O’Brien, U.S. Marine Corps.

As part of annual service, local pastors are invited to speak. The Rev. Ken Marsh came forward and said of his five children, three have served in the military and two are still active. He also said that a second cousin, Wesley Smith, who served in the Army, died that morning. “On Memorial Day, how appropriate.”

He told the story of servicemen who crashed in the ocean during World War II and were on life raft hundreds of miles from land. The biggest enemy was starvation, until a seagull landed on the head of Eddie Rickenbacker. The bird was captured and eaten and the soldiers survived.

Rickenbacher fed gulls shrimp every Friday night unti

l the day he died, to remember the one “that gave itself without a struggle. We should never forget the soldiers of our country, who gave up their lives. Because that gull gave up its life, Eddie got a second chance. Because many brave men and women have died in the armed services, fighting for our country’s freedom, we too have a chance at life, a life of freedom.”

Storms thanked Marge Gertz for the new PA system.

A memorial service was conducted Monday at the courthouse at the same time. The Outlook has been attending the services in Millersburg and Onaway in alternating years.