Mount Vernon and Lisbon held Memorial Day Ceremonies Monday, May 29.
Michael Woods, commander of Mount Vernon’s American Legion Howard Hahn Post 480, thanked those in attendance for their continued support and attendance of the Memorial Day ceremony.
Fred Lehman led with the pledge of allegiance and Ann Currie read the poem “In Flanders Field.” Senior Jacob Cannon read the Declaration of Independence.
Mayor Tom Wieseler gave brief remarks at the ceremony.
“I appreciate the opportunity for all of us to gather and recognize all the men and women who gave their lives in the armed forces, to protect our freedoms,” Wieseler said.
Mount Vernon poet laureate Amelia Kibbie read an original poem for the ceremony (see page ()).
Lisbon’s Memorial Day ceremony began with the parade, including performances by the Lisbon band at the memorial wall at the cemetery and at the raising of the flag in route to the gazebo.
As well, Joseph Arch had arranged a piece called the Cyclops March in honor of the local American Legion to be performed at the Memorial Day services.
Colin Schumacher and Natalie VonBehren read their “What the Flag Means to Me” essays, which teacher Erin Chalupa said is one of the favorite activities for students.
“They get to learn how to write and rewrite and improve these essays as part of the exercise, and they get a dilly bar party sponsored by the American Legion, so even if they don’t place, they all get to celebrate their essays,” Chalupa said.
The speaker at Lisbon’s Memorial Day ceremony was Lisbon principal Jack Leighty.
Leighty gave some of the history of the Memorial Day holiday, starting with Decoration Day following the Civil War.
Leighty noted his family has a long history of service, with his grandparents, dad, uncles and brothers serving in armed forces.
“I remember many Memorial Day weekends spent visiting all of the Leighty veteran graves to make sure they were properly adorned,” Leighty said.
It always reminded him of the importance of the sacrifices that his family and others made to defend the freedoms we hold dear.
He noted as well that comes from much of the training that soldiers receive in basic training, where, as Simon Sinek pointed out in his book “Leaders Eat Last.”
“Marine drill sergeants work to remove the I, me and my in soldiers vocabulary and shift to we, us, and together,” Leighty said. “That sums up every veteran I’ve ever met, that they put team mentality first instead of their own.”
The American flag gets raised on the route to the gazebo in the Lisbon cemetery.