Local veterans honored on Memorial Day

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

Those who made the ultimate sacrifice were honored during Memorial Day services on Monday.

At Van Wert’s Woodland Cemetery, veterans and members of the community gathered to honor veterans who died in wars throughout U.S. history. The American Legion Post 178 Riders presented the colors to begin the solemn ceremony, and Van Wert Mayor Ken Markward greeted those in attendance.

After a prayer by American Legion Chaplin Dick Elder, Post 178 Commander Bill Marshall noted 2,100 veterans are buried at Woodland Cemetery, then spoke about sacrifices made by veterans and their families to keep the United States free.

“I’m very pleased to see the crowd and I’m very pleased that you’re here,” Marshall told a sizable gathering. “Many of you probably have veterans buried here and it is significant that we honor all of them.”

The guest speaker was Van Wert County Veterans Commission President Ashley Showalter, who explained that her grandfather fought at the Battle of the Bulge, which took place between mid-December of 1944 and mid-January of 1945, between Belgium and Luxembourg.

Her grandfather, Sgt. Donald Kiracofe, 202nd Enginner Battalion, made to back from the war and was able to tell stories. She also said a young Belgian man, Randy Buelens of Brussels, who enjoys learning about World War II, especially the efforts of U.S. forces. He received special permission to dig in certain areas of Belgium to search for war artifacts. His ongoing search has turned up helmets, boots, personal effects and dog tags, including those belonging to Kiracofe.

“None us know how his dog tags ended up buried in a field next to a small airfield in Belgium,” Showalter said. “He returned home but his dog tags remained there, waiting for time to tell a story. My grandfather has been gone for some time so we can’t ask him what happened, we can only visit him in our memories.”

Showalter shared some of the stories told by her grandfather, including a harrowing story about enemy forces opening fire from a plane. She said the dog tags will be placed in a museum in Belgium.

“The people of Belgium can know the names of the young men who gave them back their freedom,” Showalter said.

After Showalter’s speech, wreaths were laid by Libby Gardner and Ken Myers at the foot of a veterans memorial in the cemetery, followed by an honor guard providing a 21-gun salute to those veterans who gave their lives for America. “Taps” was played for those who died in service to the country.