VFW post hosts Veterans Day ceremony after chilly parade in Lower Burrell

Snow flurried and the temperature lingered around the freezing mark at 11 a.m. Tuesday but that didn’t stop veterans, first responders, local residents and students from marching down Leechburg Road in Lower Burrell’s annual Veterans Day Parade.

A brief Veterans Day ceremony, complete with rifle salute from a seven-man honor guard, took place at Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 92 after the half-hour-long parade ended.

Joanne Carsteter tried not to think Tuesday morning about the cold.

The Lower Burrell resident, whose family members have served in the military, watched the parade march through her hometown’s business district while bundled up in a heavy coat topped with a red, white and blue scarf.

“If they can fight for us, we can show up for them,” Carsteter, 83, said.

Nearby, U.S. Marine Corps veteran Douglas Cruz sported his branch’s insignia on a red sweatshirt while watching the parade. Cruz was joined by his wife, Becka, and the couple’s niece and nephew.

For VFW post Commander Lee Johnson, the annual holiday continues to be a celebration of brotherhood.

“There’s a camaraderie — that’s important,”said Johnson, a U.S. Army veteran who’s been leading the Lower Burrell post for 11 years. “That’s what it’s all about.”

Patriotic fervor wasn’t hard to spot Tuesday at the post, which sits off Wildlife Lodge Road near Little Pucketa Creek.

Children’s drawings of American-flag-filled hearts lined dining-room tables. “Thank you for keeping me free, thank you for keeping me safe,” a child named Izzy wrote on the back of his drawing.

Elsewhere, a wide variety of chocolate and sweets — from vanilla-frosted doughnuts to three different flavors of brownies — sat on surfaces adorned with red, white and blue tablecloths. The same colors flickered on Christmas-tree-style lights draped near the cantina’s bar.

“American Soldier,” a patriotic ode from country-rock musician Toby Keith, played over the post’s speakers moments before the ceremony. The post fell silent, everyone saluting or placing their hand over their heart, as the national anthem played.

While speaking in front of several dozen area veterans — a fraction of the post’s 2,300 members — Johnson also couldn’t help but joke about the sudden plunge in temperatures this week.

Post leaders placed two wreaths in memory of fallen soldiers inside the canteen.

“We’ll take them outside — when it gets warmer,” Johnson quipped, with a laugh.

Lower Burrell Mayor Chris Fabry capped the ceremony with a short speech paying tribute to those who served — and continue to serve — in the U.S. military.

“Your service and sacrifice form the foundation of everything we hold dear,” he said.

“Speeches are short around here,” Johnson added. “Once again, thanks everybody — we appreciate you!”