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Wells County residents crowded into little Veteran’s Park early Monday morning for the annual Memorial Day service to honor local service people who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
Memorial Day was first proclaimed on May 5, 1868, by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic and was first observed on May 30 of that year when flowers were placed on graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. It became a national holiday by order of Congress in 1971.
Ryan Crist, Commander of American Legion Post 111, thanked the hundred or so folks who gathered for the Bluffton ceremony; mothers, fathers, spouses and children of veterans and veterans themselves.
He encouraged everyone to display their support for their country and for those who defend it against all enemies.
“Patriotism is important to our nation,” he said. “Without patriotism we would have no heroes to honor today.”
Crist invited 1st Lt. Michael Brandt, U.S. Calvary, to speak on the sacrifices made by so many of his comrades every day.
Brandt said in his opinion national patriotism had ebbed in the last several years from its height at the beginning of the new Millennium.
Flags were flying from every home he passed immediately after the events of 9/11, but today flags only seem to fly on the holidays, he said.
“The wild enthusiastic patriotism from that time has faded,” he said. To counter that apathy, he said, “fly your American flag not just on the 4th of July and holidays, but every day.”
Brandt said soldiers who die in service to their country have “paid the ultimate cost for freedom.” Friends and family of soldiers who have paid that price will never forget, he said. “And neither should we.”
At the end of a brief ceremony, a wreath to honor the war dead of Wells County was laid at Veteran’s Park, the flag was lowered and 21 rifles were fired in salute to their sacrifice.
jerryb@news-banner.com
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