Traditional Memorial Day Service Continues On
The American Flag was raised over the Veterans Memorial on Monday morning at the start of the Memorial Day service.
Oskaloosa, Iowa – The traditional Memorial Day service at Forest Cemetery took place on Monday morning, starting at 10 a.m.
Veterans and their supporters took part in the parade that goes from the American Legion Post on High Avenue to the cemetery. This year was a small diversion to the traditional route down High Avenue, due to road construction.
Memorial Day was once known as Decoration Day, and is a day specifically for remembering the men and women who died while serving the United States.
The practice of decorating soldiers’ graves is an ancient one, and was practiced in the United States before the Civil War, but had started to organize into a common date in 1868.
Memorial Day became the common name after World War II, and was declared the official name of the holiday by Federal law in 1967.
More than one million Americans have given their lives in service to the United States.
In Oskaloosa, the longtime tradition at Forest Cemetery started with the opening National Anthem performed by the Oskaloosa City Band, and sung by Allison McGuire.
The flag raised over the ceremony was in honor of Sgt. Lyle G. Panno, U.S. Army (retired).
The invocation was made by Jerry Blanchard, Chaplain for American Legion Post #34 and V.F.W. Post #2237.
Mayor Dave Krutzfeldt once again welcomed the over 100 attendees to the mornings program, before the placing of the Memorial Wreaths took place.
An award was made to Andrea Dursky for her over 60 years of service to the Memorial Day program.
State Representative and Marine Corp Brigadier General (Ret.) Guy Vander Linden gave the keynote address. He spoke about his memories while growing up in Oskaloosa and in particular, attending the Memorial Day service as a child.
He spoke of those who have served the United States, and the sacrifices they made.
Joe S. Crookham read the Report of Graves Registration, speaking the name of every service member who has been lost during the past year.
The service ended with the traditional playing of TAPS and the 21 gun salute.
“I thought it went very well. The weather was great and the crowd was good. The guest speaker had a good message, and glad to see that Andrea was honored for all her years service,” said Harry L. Anderson, American Legion Post #34, Commander Darrin Alderson.
With donations from interested parties, the ceremony area has been updated for this year, including a bridge over the pond spillway, a location for the band and connecting sidewalks.
If you’re interested in helping the Memorial Day Committee, contact one of the local veterans groups. A call for extra help was placed, and the group would greatly appreciate those interested.
