Veterans remembered in pair of Lower Valley services
Communities across the lower Allegheny Valley remembered and honored veterans during Memorial Day services Sunday.
Members from the Springdale Veterans Association — from VFW Post 1437 and American Legion Post 764 — held a service Sunday afternoon at the Cheswick War Memorial. Following that, they met with West Deer American Legion members to host another service at Deer Creek Cemetery in Harmar.
Mark Donahue of the veterans association said he read a recent article stating that less than 1% of Americans know anything about Memorial Day. He read aloud the “Memorial Day Order,” a proclamation issued May 5, 1868, in Washington, D.C.
On that day, General John A. Logan, commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, issued the order, which designates May 30 “for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion,” Donahue read.
He read that the observance was with the hope that it will be continued from year to year, as war survivors remain to honor the memory of those who have died.
“That is why we still do this,” Donahue said. “We are duty-bound.”
The veterans placed wreaths, flowers and American flags at the Cheswick and Deer Creek sites.
“May our comrades’ devotion to duty and to the cause of freedom be an inspiration to future generations,” said Terry Ellis of the veterans association.
They placed a red flower alongside a wreath, symbolizing courage and a tribute to fallen veterans’ bloodshed for the cause of freedom. They also brought forth an evergreen, a “symbol of our everlasting remembrance,” said Georgetta Smotzer of the veterans association.
Services concluded with the sounding of taps, a bugle call for lights out, and the Deer Creek ceremony included a 21-gun salute.
Terri Halasowski of Harmar said she always attends the Deer Creek ceremony. Her father, Jim Boyle, was in the Navy; and her son, Jesse, is a major in the Air Force. Jesse has served three tours in Afghanistan, she said.
She said she is thankful for those who give their lives fighting for freedom.
“I have a military background, so I hold this near and dear,” she said.
Kellen Stepler is a TribLive reporter covering the Allegheny Valley and Burrell school districts and surrounding areas. He joined the Trib in April 2023. He can be reached at kstepler@triblive.com.
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